City requires employees to download COVID app

ALL City of Winnipeg employees with work phones will be required to download the federal government’s COVID Alert app, now that it’s available in Manitoba.

Mayor Brian Bowman said the move is meant to help ensure the app has enough users to be effective.

"Not only do we want to ensure the safety of our staff but also our community and our residents," said Bowman. "I’m hoping that it will encourage other Winnipeggers, as well as other levels of government, to download the app."

While city council members are not technically considered city staff, the mayor said they’ve been encouraged to voluntarily download the app.

The free app, which is available for download at the Apple and Google Play app stores, will notify users who have been closer than two metres for more than 15 minutes with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

The app does not share users’ private information, the federal government has said.

The City of Selkirk has also made the app mandatory for its employees’ municipal phones.

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October 24, 2020

City requires employees to download COVID app

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