The province’s health officer says that the government has not come to an agreement about the app
The government of British Columbia has no intention of adopting the federal COVID Alert exposure notification app.
CTV News reports that the provincial government has not revealed whether it has made any progress towards adopting the app.
“It’s been a challenge for us. We’ve not reached an agreement. It’s not at the point where it would be helpful for what we’re managing here in B.C. for our pandemic right now,†B.C. health officer Bonnie Henry stated.
There will likely be growing calls for the province to adopt the app, as the surge of infections in recent weeks continues to increase.
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. Kenney has 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.
COVID Alert is currently fully functional in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.
The app 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.
Source: CTV News