A new app from a provincial government in Canada has just been launched to help combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. COVID-ALERT, a government initiative designed to help limit the spread of the pandemic is available for free for Apple and Android users. “COVID Alert helps us break the cycle of infection. The app can let people know of possible exposures before any symptoms appear,” reads the Government of Canada website.
The app interfaces with Bluetooth, exchanging random codes with nearby phones and checks them against the codes of someone who has reported a positive COVID-19 test. When a person tests positive, their local health institution gives them a one-time key access to log a report into the app. The app then notifies the phones in the network that have been within 6.5 feet of that user for longer than a 15-minute period in two weeks and gives instructions as to the next steps. These measures are based on the established CDC guidelines for social distancing and quarantine.
Use of this app is voluntary, and it is a notification tool, rather than a contact tracing initiative. According to the app’s privacy policy, it does not use or store the user’s location, name, address, health information or phone contacts, according to the app’s privacy policy. It only collects and stores encrypted random codes on the user’s phone and from other phones nearby for 14 days, and must be released with the user permission.
Source:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-coronavirus-ontario-july-31-update-1.5670065
