Montreal asks people to use new web app to track COVID-19 cases throughout the city

New seniors homes hope to curb spread of illnesses Quebec is moving ahead with plans to build new seniors homes aimed at preventing the transmission of infections.

Montreal — Montreal public health officials have launched a new web app to track possible cases of COVID-19 throughout the city.

Montreal public health director Mylene Drouin introduced the website Aplatir.ca (Or flatten.ca) in a Friday afternoon news conference.

The web app was developed by University of Toronto professors and students and has been used by some 300,000 people throughout the country so far.

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City of Montreal workers helped translate the site into French for local residents (though the app is bilingual).

Participation is voluntary, but Drouin asked that anyone with COVID-19-like symptoms use it.

“We ask you to fill out the form to see if you are in the group at risk,” she said.

Those symptoms include:

The app does not ask for personal data beyond the first three digits of your postal code to allow public health officials to track symptoms throughout the city.

The Quebec government also has an online triage site to help residents evaluate their risk of getting COVID-19.

As of Friday, there are  2,837 people infected with COVID-19 in Montreal. Of them, 169 have been hospitalized, including 31 in intensive care. Montreal has counted 29 deaths so far. As many as 175 local health professionals have also been infected with the virus.

REMINDER: DON’T GATHER 

Drouin also reminded Montreal that with the weekend and better weather on the way, no one should be gathering in parks, and everyone should respect the two-metre physical distance guidelines. People should stay in their own neighbourhoods and limit travel outside of the home.

On Thursday, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said police would bet stepping up patrols in parks and get tougher on issuing fines to those gathered in parks. Those fines start at $1,000.