Ottawa shuts down COVID Alert app with pandemic easing in Canada
Global News
COVID Alert cost $20 million, with $15.9 million spent on promotion and advertising, and another $3.5 million on developing and maintaining it.
The federal government’s COVID Alert app has been taken offline.
With the COVID-19 pandemic easing in Canada, Ottawa moved on Friday to shut down its exposure notification app that was launched early in the pandemic.
COVID Alert came online on July 31, 2020 – many months before Canadians began to be vaccinated against COVID-19. It was created to help limit the spread of the novel virus, but it was criticized as being ineffective.
More than 6.9 million people living in Canada downloaded the app, and more than 57,000 users who tested positive for COVID-19 notified others of a possible exposure, the government said on Friday.
“While the pandemic is not over, the decision to decommission COVID Alert comes after careful consideration following discussions with provinces and territories on the ongoing evolution of public health programming that varies in each jurisdiction,” Health Canada said in a news release.
“Furthermore, over the last few months, with less PCR testing across Canada, fewer one-time keys were being issued and therefore fewer notifications of potential exposures were sent to users resulting in lower app usage.”
When the app was unveiled, it was promoted by Ottawa as an important tool for Canadians to have in the fight against COVID-19.
It was designed to be simple: When people were near each other, their phones would exchange and record anonymous numeric codes so that if a person using the app ever became sick with COVID-19, an alert could be sent to every phone that had recorded being near that phone and the phone’s owner could take appropriate health precautions.
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