WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – The Canadian province of Alberta said on Friday it would soon launch the country’s first phone app to trace contacts of people infected with the coronavirus, as the country slowly restarts its economy.
Ontario, the most populous province, said it was looking at options for such apps.
Increased contact tracing and testing are key parts of plans to reopen economies that have largely closed to slow the pandemic’s spread, with no proven vaccine or treatment available.
Privacy advocates in Britain have urged the government to prevent a soon-to-be-launched app from turning into a form of state surveillance.
“We’re looking at some of these apps for now, for contact tracing, but also for the future, for the benefit of our healthcare system,” Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliot told reporters.
Alberta was scheduled to announce its plans for the app, called AB TraceTogether, late afternoon on Friday. It became the latest province this week to…
Source Reuters Tech News
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