Update:TheCOVIDAlertapphaslaunched
HowdoestheCOVIDAlertappwork
Eachday,theappchecksthecodesyouencounteredagainstalistofthosewhohavetestedpositiveforCOVID-19.Ifyou'vebeennearanyofthosecodesinthepast14days,you'llgetanalertwithguidanceonhowtoproceed.
Ontario'sthefirstprovincewhereyoucanreportaCOVID-19diagnosisthroughtheapp.Otherprovinceswillfollowsuitsoon.Evenso,it'sstillvaluableforthoseoutsideOntariotodownloadtheapp!Keepitonyourphoneforthedurationofthepandemic.
What'swiththecodes
WhenapersontestspositiveforCOVID-19,healthcareprofessionalsgivethemaspecific,randomly-generatedcode,whichtheycaninputintoCOVIDAlert.Thisletsanyonewhowasnearthatpersoninthepasttwoweeksknowtheycouldhavebeenexposedtothevirus.
Whataboutmyprivacy
ManydigitalprivacygroupshaveexpressedconcernaboutappslikeCOVIDAlert,whichwasdevelopedbythecombinedforcesofGoogleandApple—arareexampleofcorporateteamworkthatspeakstotheseriousofCOVID-19.Thedevelopershaveworkedhardtoensurenopersonally-identifiabledataistrackedorstored.Theappdoesn'taccessGPSorlocationdata.
Inpractice,thismeanstheapphasnowayofknowing:
Justonetoolinthetoolbox
Remember,COVIDAlertcanhelpyoustaysafeandinformedaboutthevirus,butitcan'tprotectyouentirely.Theappisonepartofthepublichealthfightagainstthepandemic.Besureyou'revigilantontheoldstandbys,likemasks,handwashing,andphysicaldistancing.
Reachouttomedicalprofessionalsorhealthcareprovidersifyougetsick,andfollowmanualcontacttracingguidelinesifasked.
Staysafe!
Ifyou'refollowingnewsofthepandemic,you'veprobablyheardaboutcontacttracing.ContacttracingisaprocessforidentifyingpeoplewhomayhavebeenexposedtotheCOVID-19virus—whoarethenathigherriskofillness.
InJune,Canada'sPrimeMinister,JustinTrudeau,announcedanewnationalcontacttracingappthatwillbetestedinOntariobeforebeingrolledoutacrossthecountry.
Howwillthecontacttracingappwork
WhenapersonwiththeappwhohastestedpositiveforCOVID-19comescloseenoughtoanotherappuser,theappwillregisterthecontact.Theappbuildsamodelnetworkofallthecascadingcontactsapersonmighthavewithothers.
Ahealthcareprofessionalwillhelpthosewhotestpositiveanonymouslyuploadtheirinfotothenetwork.Theappwillthenpinganyotherswho'vebeenincontact,offeringinfoandadviceandencouragingthemtocontactpublichealthofficials.
TheexperimentstartsinOntario
Beforepartneringwiththefederalgovernment,Ontariohadbegunworkonitsowncontacttracingapp.Now,asthecountry'smostpopulousprovince,Ontariowillbefirsttoconnectthosewhotestpositivewiththeapp.
Oncetheappisofficiallyrolledout,itwillbeavailabletoanyCanadianwhowantstouseit.TheappwillworkonbothAndroidandApplephones,andtheprimeministerstressedthetechismoreeffectivethemorepeoplewhouseit.
Toaccountforlocalpublichealthadviceandconditions,theappwillbecustomizedforeachprovincethatsignson,theprimeministersaid.Hecalledforaco-ordinatednationaleffortoncontacttracing.
Theold-fashionedway
Contacttracingisnotanewidea,butit'sgenerallybeendonebyhand.Healthcareproshavetraditionallysatdownwithspreadsheetsandtelephonestodocontacttracing.Anappmakesallthismucheasier.
Provincesacrossthecountryalreadyemploydozensofcontacttracers,whileStatisticsCanadahasevenoffereditsservicestohelpwithphonecalls.
Still,anappisn'tacatch-allsolution:instead,it'sonetoolofmanyforcombattingCOVID-19.
Privacyanddatasecurity
ThereareconcernsaboutcurrentprivacylawsandwhethersafeguardsareinplacetoprotectCanadians'datashouldsomethinggowrongwiththeapp.ThePrivacyCommissoner'sofficeisdevelopingadviceforthegovernmentbuthasn'tyetreleaseditsrecommendations.
Thegovernmentisalsosettingupanexternaladvisoryboardtoprovideaccountabilityontheapp.Thecontacttracingappwon'tcapturelocationdata,whichisagoodsignforprivacyadvocates.
Whatdoescontacttracingmeanforyou
InMay,asurveyof2,000Canadiansfoundamajorityapprovedofmakingananonymousappmandatory.Evenso,theappindevelopmentwillbeopt-in—meaningyou'llhavetochoosetodownloadit.
Aspartofareturntoon-campuslearningforthefallsemesterinSeptember,contacttracingwillbeimportant.Schoolsmayinsistthatanyoneoncampus,fromstudenttofaculty,useacontacttracingapp,thoughthiswouldbetoughtoenforce.
ThenationalcontacttracingapplaunchesinOntarioonJuly2,andasdatacomesinandbugsgetworkedout,shouldbeavailableacrossCanadasoon.
BesuretosignupanddownloadtheappsoyoucandoyourparttosupportCanada'scoronavirusresponseandhelpgettheworldbackontrack!
YourStudyinCanadalogingetsyouaccesstothewholeplatform!
SchoolFinder.com
Getmatchedtoschoolsandprograms,requestinformationandlearnmoreaboutcareerpaths.
ScholarshipsCanada.com
Getinstantlymatchedtoscholarships,receivedeadlinealerts,andfindadviceonscholarshipapplications.