Over the past months, Canadians have been following public health advice and doing their part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. As we continue to deal with the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, we need to work together to keep people safe and healthy and contain the virus, so we can build a more resilient Canada.
The Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec confirmed today that people in Quebec can now receive one-time keys from their health authorities to use with COVID Alert, Canada’s COVID-19 exposure notification app. The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, made the announcement earlier today with the province’s Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, and Minister for Government Digital Transformation, Éric Caire. The app helps notify users if they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
The COVID Alert app is free and voluntary, and is another tool to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Users who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a one-time key from their health authority that they can enter into the app. When the key is entered, COVID Alert will notify other users who may have come in close contact with that person for at least 15 minutes, and direct them on next steps based on their provincial public health advice.
To safeguard the confidentiality and privacy of all Canadians, the app uses strong measures to protect any data it collects, and does not track a user’s location or collect personally identifiable information. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada continues to be engaged on COVID Alert, and supports its use by Canadians.
COVID Alert is available for download to all Canadians, and one-time keys provided by health authorities are now available to the people of Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The Government of Canada continues to work with the other provinces and territories to bring their health authorities on board in the coming weeks and months.
Quotes
“The COVID Alert app is a tool that Quebeckers can use to help protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities from COVID-19. As more people use it, we can slow the spread of the virus and help prevent future waves. We will continue to work with other provinces and territories to bring their health authorities on board so as many Canadians as possible can benefit from the app.”
—The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
“Already downloaded by more than 3.3 million Canadians, this app is an additional tool we can use to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I encourage you to download it and input the one-time key to notify others should you get COVID-19.”
