Ontario Contact Tracing App Download Coming July 24 Says Premier Ford

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Monday the province expects the COVID Alert iOS and Android contact tracing app to be released this Friday, July 24.

Speaking to reporters, Ford said the release of the contact tracing app is still awaiting approval from the federal government.

Last week, Ford told CBC News the delay of the contact tracing app was due to the federal government.

When asked by CBC News about the delay last week, Health Minister, Patty Hajdu, said developers were “working to make sure code is working properly.”

“First of all, I want to be really clear that this is not necessarily a contact tracing app, but more an app to help Canadians get notifications about whether or not they personally have been in contact with someone who’s been diagnosed with COVID-19,” added Hajdu.

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The COVID Alert iOS and Android app uses technology from Apple and Google for contact tracing, leverage anonymous Bluetooth handshakes between devices, with all data remaining on a user’s device and not uploaded to a central server, unlike other app solutions used in other jurisdictions.

Apple and Google are only allowing one national COVID-19 contact tracing app per country to use their APIs which allow for Bluetooth to be used in the system background to preserve device battery life.

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