COVID-19
Canada: Quebec joins COVID-19 Alert app, few provinces resist
Quebec/IBNS: Canadian province Quebec's joining in the COVID-19 Alert app, and Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (PEI)'s commitment to join it in the coming days, has left British Columbia (B.C.), and Alberta as the only remaining provinces with no immediate plans to activate the digital app, media reports said.
The federal government-administered Bluetooth technology with smartphones, COVID-19 Alert app, with its expert notification framework developed jointly by tech giants Apple and Google, allows users to communicate when they are less than two meters apart for at least 15 minutes to report a positive coronavirus test as well as alert others of potential exposure.
"The app will only really help us if many people choose to activate it," Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters shortly after he downloaded the app, CBC News reported.
Ottawa Public Health said last month that the first exposure notification of diagnosis was prompted by the COVID-19 alert app.
More features of the COVID-19 alert app are currently under review, says Health Canada and adds that the app "as is" should be adopted by all provinces and territories as a priority.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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