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OAKLAND — Three U.S. local governments plan to sign deals this week to become the first to adopt a location tracking app aimed at preventing new outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-led project said Thursday.

An additional 17 state and municipal governments are considering introducing the app in their communities as soon as in the next two weeks, said Ramesh Raskar, an associate professor at MIT, in an email exchange.

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“These span all over the country, and include some of the largest U.S. cities to more remote vacation communities looking to protect themselves,” he said.

Raskar declined to specify the states, counties or cities nearing agreements but said they were expected to advocate for residents to voluntarily download the app, known as Private Kit.

He described the expected deals as a “letter of intent” for collaboration, training and support.