Earlier today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed a national contact-tracing app to track COVID-19 would be coming soon, powered by Apple and Google technology.
The new voluntary app will first be made available in Ontario for testing and now more details have been shared by the provincial government.
The mobile app for iOS and Android will be called COVID Alert and will be made available for download on July 2, 2020.
The app was created in Ontario by the Ontario Digital Service (ODS) and Shopify. The government will also “leverage BlackBerry volunteer expertise to audit the security and privacy of the application, in addition to the province’s internal security reviews.”
You can check out screenshots of COVID Alert below:
#BREAKING: The province of Ontario is testing a contact tracing app that will notify people if they’ve been exposed to someone with #COVID19. It will be voluntary and anonymous. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/fBBMhSnVFO
— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) June 18, 2020
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure. That’s why our government has been relentless in building our testing and contact tracing capacity to track, trace, and contain the invisible enemy we face,” said Premier Ford, in a statement. “As we take our contact tracing strategy to the next level today, I want to thank the federal government for providing more boots on the ground and supporting a privacy-first app that will protect both Ontarians and Canadians alike.”
NEW: Here's your first look at Ontario's new COVID-19 contact tracing app.
The app will be launched in Ontario on July 2 and will be entirely voluntary. #onpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/XPgyhbFMjo
— Colin D'Mello CTVNews (@ColinDMello) June 18, 2020
The video above shows what COVID Alert will look like and how it will work. The app will work on iPhones running iOS 5.0 or later and Android smartphones running Android 6.0 or higher.
Click here to vote in our poll–will you be downloading this app to use when it’s released nationwide?
…more to follow
