NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)– Starting Monday, the New Haven Department of Health is launching an expansion of their SeeClickFix app.
SeeClickFix is basically a way to crowdsource problems with New Haven. You see something wrong, you report it. The new additions to the app will now allow residents to submit any COVID-19 related questions and report anyone or any business not following social distancing guidelines.
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If you’re not familiar with SeeClickFix, it’s a website and app where people can let the city know about issues like potholes that need to be filled, or trees on city property that need to be trimmed back. You see something wrong, you click on this website or app, and somebody comes out and fixes the problem.
The usual categories are things like graffiti, street lights, parking meters. But now there’s a whole category labeled COVID-19, with subsections for reporting a non-compliant business or reporting gatherings that violate social distancing rules.
“So any type of area, that individuals would like to inquire for us to look into, we want to make sure that people can certainly provide that platform,” said Maritza Bond, New Haven Director of Public Health. “We’re really spreading the facts and not the virus, so this is just an avenue that we are opening communication with the community that we serve.”
It also has an updated list of city policies and closures during the pandemic.
That announcement came just a day after New haven Mayor Justin Elicker said he was going to have the health department inspect all city stores that are still open to make sure they are following new state rules about occupancy and distancing of customers in and outside of the store. This now lets the public help with those enforcement measures.
Many people are calling the New Haven Health Department Emergency Hotline for these issues, but officials said these issues are clogging up the line. So, if it’s not a health-related issue, people are asked to use the app.
Officials said it’s a bilingual campaign so it will be useful to all residents.
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More information on the app can be found online.
