Key takeaways:
- COVID-19 disclosure notification app may be discontinued as early as this week, CBC News has confirmed.
- Although the government enabled the COVID Alert app, it saw just under seven million downloads.
The federal government will be shutting down the COVID Alert app and may do so as before as this week; government sources have informed CBC News.
The sources spoke to CBC News on the state they not be named because they’re not allowed to discuss the issue publicly. The Globe and Mail first reported the news.
The phone app, established in the summer of 2020, was created to warn users of potential COVID-19 exposure. Users who have tested positive for the virus use a one-time-key on the app to report their diagnoses.
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Their phones then exchange codes with other phones that have the app installed and advise those who have been within two meters of an infected individual for 15 minutes or longer.
The federal government promoted the use of the app throughout the outbreak. The app doesn’t collect personal details such as locations, addresses, and phone contacts.
COVID Alert has been downloaded only 6,893,423 times, and only 57,704 one-time keys to report infection have been used, according to the government. Canada has seen 3.87 million COVID-19 illnesses and 41,000 related casualties since the pandemic started.
Source – cbc.ca
