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COVID Alert: Canada's incoming contact-tracing app

The federal government is rolling out a new, voluntary contact-tracing app called COVID Alert. Today we talk with infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch about how the app works and the privacy concerns surrounding it.
The government of Canada's national contact tracing app is built on COVID Shield, seen here, an open sourced tool developed by a group of volunteers from Shopify. (COVID Shield)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants you to download an app.

It's called COVID Alert and it is a new, voluntary contact-tracing app that will be available for download in just a few weeks. The app will first be tested in Ontario before rolling out to the rest of the country. A lot of people are welcoming the app as a powerful tool to stop new coronavirus outbreaks. 

But it's still too early to tell how many Canadians will be willing to sign up to share their personal health information, especially since companies such as Google, Apple, BlackBerry and volunteers from Shopify were all involved with its creation.

Today, infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch talks about what a contact tracing app means for Canada and shares his thoughts on privacy concerns.

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