Canada's COVID Alert app will be discontinued as PCR testing becomes rare
Canada's COVID Alert app will be discontinued in the coming days, a federal government source tells The Canadian Press.
The app was launched in the summer of 2020 as the pandemic began and billed as a way to alert people if they've been in close contact with someone who's been infected with COVID-19, without collecting personal data.
But it requires users to enter a one-time key, given to them when they receive a positive PCR test result, and with many provinces replacing PCR testing with rapid testing, the user keys are not being given out.
The app has been criticized as being ineffective and not living up to expectations, and while 6.89 million people had downloaded it as of Feb. 1, only 57,704 user keys have been used.
Meanwhile, there have been an estimated 3.87 million COVID-19 infections in Canada since the pandemic began and more than 41,000 people have died.
The COVID Alert App cost $20 million, with the majority of that -- $15.9 million -- spent on promotion and advertising, and another $3.5 million on developing and maintaining the app.
COVID-19 COVERAGE
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada-wide shortage of liquid Children's Tylenol now also impacting chewables
A nationwide shortage of liquid Children’s Tylenol is also impacting generic chewables, with Quebec-based Laboratoire Riva reporting a shortage due to rising demand.

Ontario mayor fires back at conspiracy theorists who tried to arrest police officers
An Ontario mayor had some harsh words for protesters who attempted to place local police officers under arrest Saturday.
Trump supporters' threats to judge spur democracy concerns
Hundreds of federal judges face the same task every day: review an affidavit submitted by federal agents and approve requests for a search warrant. But for U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the fallout from his decision to approve a search warrant has been far from routine.
B.C. cop who showed sexual selfie to domestic violence victim reinstated
A B.C. Mountie who was fired after showing a domestic violence victim what he described as a barely clothed "d*** pic" was rehired last year after arguing the RCMP's conduct board treated him unfairly.
Eastern Ontario doctor facing 3 new murder charges
An eastern Ontario doctor who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of a patient is facing three new murder charges, Ontario Provincial Police have announced.
COVID-19 hospitalizations due to Omicron are vastly underreported: grassroots organization
Analysis by a grassroots organization of scientists reveals hospitalizations from the Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 could be 70 per cent higher than what has been reported since December.
The return of Zellers: Hudson's Bay to resurrect Canadian discount retail chain
Canadian department store Zellers hopes to make a comeback next year, a decade after the discount chain shuttered most of its locations., brand owner Hudson's Bay Co. said Wednesday.
As home prices drop, here's what you can get in Canada's most affordable markets
CTVNews.ca has compiled a list of homes in some of the most affordable regions across Canada, as many real estate markets see drops in average prices.
Proportion of French speakers declines nearly everywhere in Canada, including Quebec
The proportion of Canadians who mainly speak French at home continues to decline in nearly all provinces and territories, including Quebec, the latest census release shows.