The Government of Canada has announced its COVID Alert iOS and Android app has reached 2 million downloads. The data comes from Canadian Digital Service (CDS) which is administering the app.
“We’ve reached two million downloads of #COVID Alert!”, said CDS this morning. “Keep it up! The more people that download the notification exposure app, the more effective it can be.”
COVID Alert launched in late July for those in Ontario. Check out the following timeline of its milestones:
The government says all Canadians should download COVID Alert, as the Apple and Google exposure notification API will still work, even if your local health authority doesn’t support it yet.
The app uses Bluetooth in the background for anonymous “handshakes” for devices. For those that test positive for COVID-19, they can choose to alert others anonymously by entering in a one-time key obtained from local health officials.
Ottawa plans to spend upwards of $10 million to promote downloads of COVID Alert.
Download links: COVID Alert for iOS; COVID Alert for Android.
