BALTIMORE, MD.  — Today, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced a new partnership with emocha to allow City employees to self-screen for symptoms of COVID-19 as they return to their worksites. Mayor Young issued the following statement:

“Critical to restoring all Baltimore City services is the ability to safely and responsibly bring our city employees back to work at city buildings and offices,” Mayor Young said. “We are extremely excited about this new partnership with emocha Health, a Baltimore-based MWBE digital health company. It will provide employees with an innovative way to self-screen and expedite their entry process into work sites. This new partnership will play a vital role in Baltimore City’s restoration of services.”

emocha’s mobile application uses short, asynchronous virtual check-ins to identify and track symptoms of COVID-19. Baltimore City employees, across over 30 agencies, will be enrolled in emocha’s program and connected with their engagement team. The partnership is a key element of the City of Baltimore’s multifaceted return-to-work plan.

Across the country, local governments and employers are looking for ways to safely bring employees back to work in the wake of COVID-19. The safest methods incorporate social distancing—including having employees report their temperature before coming to work and confirming that they are symptom-free before entering the workplace. By implementing a remote self-screening program, the City will reduce employees’ potential exposure at work.

emocha’s platform, a mobile app available to City of Baltimore employees, allows employees of the City to track their symptoms and temperature. The emocha app will also provide links to Baltimore City COVID-19 resources and display a color-coded digital badge indicating the employee’s return-to-work status for entrance to facilities. For City visitors or employees who do not have smartphones, emocha is developing an on-site kiosk and a web portal for symptom reporting before entering the building. Both employees and visitors will be able to register and check-in at designated kiosks.

“Regardless of testing availability or COVID-19 test results for an individual, symptoms and fever drive the return-to-work decision,” said emocha CEO Sebastian Seiguer. “Having done this for several years, emocha can help employers implement strategies and technology to return employees to work with confidence.” emocha is proud to celebrate this partnership with the City of Baltimore, to keep city employees safe and healthy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as Baltimore City strategically returns employees to the workplace.