COVID Alert app now available in Nova Scotia

The COVID Alert app is now available in Nova Scotia, the province announced in a release Thursday morning. This comes as no new cases of COVID-19 and one recovery was reported.

News comes as province reports no new cases, one recovery on Thursday

Alex Cooke · CBC News · Posted: Oct 15, 2020 11:33 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 15, 2020

Nova Scotians now have access to the COVID Alert app, which can let people know if they've come into contact with someone who's tested positive for COVID-19. (CBC News)

The COVID Alert app is now available in Nova Scotia, the province announced Thursday.

The phone app will allow users who test positive for COVID-19 to enter a code supplied by the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

An alert will then be sent to any phone that has come into close contact for at least 15 minutes with a person who's tested positive.

The app will suggest how to proceed from there.

"As a province we have all shown a steadfast commitment to flattening the curve and keeping COVID activity low," Premier Stephen McNeil said in a news release.

"As we learn to live with the virus, COVID Alert is another tool that will help keep ourselves and our communities safe and healthy."

Eight provinces have now signed on to use the app: Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan, along with all four Atlantic provinces.

The release said COVID Alert does not collect personal or health information and does not know or track the location, name or contacts of the user. Prominent Halifax-based privacy lawyer David Fraser has encouraged Canadians to download the app.

The COVID Alert app is designed to send users a notification if they've recently spent at least 15 minutes in close proximity to another user who tested positive for COVID-19. (Thomas Daigle/CBC)

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, had previously described the app as "another tool in our toolbox" when it comes to slowing the spread of COVID-19, but said it was not a "golden solution" that would solve everything.

"I would encourage Nova Scotians who are able, to download and use COVID Alert as one measure to prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our province," said Strang in Thursday's release.

"Nova Scotians are reminded that they should continue to follow all public health measures in place, regardless if they use the COVID Alert app."

No new cases, one recovery

One more person in Nova Scotia has recovered from COVID-19 as no new cases were reported Thursday.

In a news release, Public Health said 907 tests were completed at Nova Scotia Health Authority labs — a big jump from the 401 tests completed the previous day and the largest number of tests in more than a week.

Three active cases are left in the province, with one person currently hospitalized in intensive care.

On Wednesday, Strang said despite growing outbreaks in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia has no plans to close the border.

He said the outbreaks do not pose an increased risk to Nova Scotians at this time because there is no evidence of community spread.

The latest cases of the virus in Nova Scotia were reported on Saturday. Two of those cases were related to travel and a third was a close contact of the travellers, according to the Department of Health and Wellness. All three have been self-isolating.

The latest numbers from around the Atlantic bubble are:

New Brunswick had eight new cases on Wednesday, and there were a total of 90 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
P.E.I. had no new cases reported as of Tuesday. There were three active cases on P.E.I.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and had eight known active cases.