Canada to introduce virus tracing app in July

Cana is introducing a contact tracing smartphone app that will tify Canians of exposure to new coronavirus.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday app will be voluntary and that if someone tests positive, or users who have app and have been in proximity will n be alerted y’ve been exposed to someone who has tested positive. Trudeau said privacy will be respected.

“At time will personal information be collected or shared, and location services will be used,” Trudeau said.

Governments around world have been turning to smartphone techlogy to help battle fresh virus flare-ups as y ease lockdown restrictions. But technical problems and privacy concerns have dogged development of virus tracing apps.

Health authorities in Britain anunced Thursday y are scrapping plans to launch ir own coronavirus contact tracing smartphone app because of technical problems and will w work on building one using techlogy supplied by Apple and Google.

Or European nations such as Switzerland, Germany and Italy, are using a “decentralized” approach based on Apple-Google smartphone interface, which experts say is better for privacy because it keeps data on phones.

Ontario will soon begin testing app which is being developed with help of Canian techlogy companies Shopify and BlackBerry. Trudeau said Apple and Google recently put out major upgres to ir operating systems and that app will be available in July.

“It will be up to individual Canians to decide wher to downlo app or t. But app will be most effective when as many people as possible have it,” Trudeau said.

He said re are 30 million smartphones in Cana that can take app, and that if over 50 percent downlo it, app will be prove to be very useful.

prime minister said app will encour people to reach out to ir local public health authorities.

“It will be extremely powerful in helping us re-open ecomy carefully,” he said.

number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Cana passed 100,000 mark on Thursday. re have been more than 8,200 deaths.