OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska and Iowa rolled out their new testing websites Tuesday. But do people actually know about them? Or know what the data does? We spoke to the data tracking company spearheading the effort to learn more.
Anything involving giving out personal information will certainly leave people with questions.
"I don't like the government nosing around in my business, that's my personal opinion," Omaha resident Kari Smith said.
But many, like Kari and Larry Smith from Omaha, are willing to give it a try.
"I'd be willing to do anything, fill out anything, just to get the economy going again," Larry Smith said.
The questionnaire includes general health and basic information questions.
Test Nebraska and Test Iowa is an effort between the states, Nomi Health, Xant Medical and Domo. Once the data is collected, it can better help officials track and asses the virus. Testing will also be increasing through this effort.
"DOMO will be putting together a testing program for us that will set up a lab here in Nebraska that will increase the amount of tests we can do by about 3,000 a day," Governor Ricketts said in a press conference Tuesday.
DOMO, a data-collecting company based out of Utah, has already had success with the program in Utah.
"So what we do is we take all that information and present it to the governor or the leadership of the state, so that they can understand where the hot-spots are, understand how to build up testing, which regions need it the most and most importantly, how we can get back to work," DOMO founder and CEO Josh James in an exclusive interview with KMTV.
The hope is that in a few weeks, 3,000 people will be able to get tested a day in both Iowa and Nebraska. The effort will also show patterns where the virus lies, so some parts of the state could start re-opening sooner.
"Again, think about it. Right now we've quarantined the entire state. What we want to shift to over time is really focusing on those people who are directly impacted," Governor Ricketts said Tuesday.
James says that the data is anonymously stored. DOMO itself will not be able to see the data, only health officials and government officials in charge of tracking the data in each state.
"It just goes to the state. None of the companies have access to it. It's all HIPPA compliant. You know we work with the biggest companies in the world so we follow all the data protocols," James said.
To fill out the form visit testnebraska.com or testiowa.com.