Quebec abandons plan to develop its own COVID-19 tracing app

MONTREAL -- Quebec Premier Francois Legault's government has abandoned plans to develop a Quebec COVID-19 contact tracing app for now.

Minister of Health and Social Services Christian Dubé announced this Tuesday alongside Minister responsible for government digital transformation Éric Caire.

They said the risks outweigh the benefits, according to the majority of experts who testified in front of the parliamentary committee.

The three opposition parties also expressed concerns at the idea of the project.

The Legault government was considering releasing an app in September to notify users when they might have been exposed to the virus.

In July, Ottawa released it’s nationwide COVID-Alert app, which is currently only available in Ontario.

-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2020.

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  FILE- People wearing masks use their smart phones during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Thursday, June 18, 2020. The Government of Canada along with provinces have announced a new downloadable contact tracing app for COVID-19, which is optional for people to use. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette