The Wolf administration on Wednesday announced it will begin utilizing the national Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system to provide important COVID-19 pandemic messages to Pennsylvania residents. 

WEA is a national public safety system that allows customers with compatible mobile devices to receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area. 

Severe weather alerts and Amber Alerts are common uses for the WEA system. 

Federal laws allow the WEA system to be used on a state-level to provide COVID-19 communications to the public. 

Pennsylvania’s first message will be sent statewide today, with the option to target specific regions of the state for future messages. For example, if one region of the state is experiencing an exceptionally high surge in COVID-19 cases, cellphone users may in that region may receive an alert with information about staying at home or where to find an available COVID-19 testing site in their area.

“WEA is one more way to reach as many Pennsylvanians as we can to provide timely information on COVID-19,” Governor Tom Wolf said. “This tool is another tool in our toolkit to fight the pandemic and unite against COVID.”