{"id":11861,"date":"2022-02-10T16:28:08","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T16:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/10\/canadas-covid-alert-app-cost-millions-but-was-it-of-any-use\/"},"modified":"2022-02-10T16:28:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T16:28:08","slug":"canadas-covid-alert-app-cost-millions-but-was-it-of-any-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/10\/canadas-covid-alert-app-cost-millions-but-was-it-of-any-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada’s COVID Alert app cost millions, but was it of any use?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The COVID Alert app was presented as the solution to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus when released in July 2020.<\/p>\n

But almost two years later, it hasn\u2019t been as helpful as initially thought, policy experts told CBC\u2019s <\/em>radio show Cost of Living<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the COVID Alert app made much of a difference in our fight against COVID,\u201d Peter Loewen, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, told the show.<\/p>\n

The outlet notes the app cost $21 million to develop and promote. More than 371,000 notifications were sent between its launch and January 31.<\/p>\n

The app uses Bluetooth signals to exchange codes with other phones that have the app. Users who spend 15 minutes near another positive user are alerted.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t track personal information, like names or locations. It also doesn\u2019t track if those who received a notice of exposure completed any further testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s simply impossible to say that the app did anything of significance,\u201d Jason Millar, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa, told Cost of Living<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should be extremely skeptical of anyone who claims they can measure the app\u2019s success in preventing cases or saving lives\u2026 There is no data that I\u2019ve seen to support the claim that it did anything of the sort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: CBC\/Cost of Living<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n