The federal government’s COVID Alert exposure notification app is now available in the Northwest Territories.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that people in the region can now receive one-time keys from the health authority to use with the COVID Alert app.
“The COVID Alert app is a tool that the people of the Northwest Territories 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,” Trudeau said in a statement.
The app has been downloaded more than 5.5 million times since its launch on July 31st. It’s currently fully functional in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.
COVID Alert can be downloaded everywhere, but other regions don’t provide one-time verification keys with positive tests, which are integral to how COVID Alert operates.
B.C. and Alberta are the only provinces that have yet to adopt the app. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has rejected the COVID Alert app and stated that Alberta no longer plans to sign onto the COVID Alert app because the province’s own app, ABTraceToegther, is more useful in stopping the spread of the virus.
Further, British Columbia’s health officer stated that the provincial government has not come to an agreement about adopting the app and that it currently has no intention of doing so.
Source: Prime Minister’s Office
