On June 30, Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 case count was on the rise again.

That day, Meghna Patel, the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s deputy secretary for health innovation, reached out to health officials in Ireland for answers to crucial questions on a new tech-based initiative to combat the virus, communications show.

At the time, Ireland was on the verge of being one of the first countries to implement a digital contact tracing program aided by technology from Apple and Google. Using Bluetooth capability in smartphones, those who choose to participate in programs like Ireland’s receive a notification if they are exposed to another person who has COVID-19. Experts say that in conjunction with traditional contact tracing and other efforts, the technology could warn those who otherwise would be unaware and prompt them to voluntarily notify close contacts or local health authorities to start the human contact tracing that is vital to reducing the spread of the coronavirus, saving lives.