The smartphone app that allows people to self-report COVID-19 infections and then alerts other app users who may have been exposed will stop operating on July 27. The state health department says COVID Alert PA, in use since early in the pandemic, is no longer an essential tool, even though the threat isn’t over. “As we move forward through this phase of the response, the COVID Alert PA app is no longer critical regardless of the current volume of COVID-19 cases. The department will continue to stay alert and monitor COVID-19 cases,” health department spokeswoman Maggi Barton said. As of...