City requires employees to download the COVID application

All Winnipeg employees with work phones are required to download the Federal Government COVID Alert application, which is now available in Manitoba.

Mayor Brian Bowman said the app will help ensure it has enough users to be effective.

“We want to ensure not only the safety of our staff, but also our community and our residents,” Bowman said. “I hope it encourages other Winnipeggers as well as other levels of government to download the app.”

Although city council members are not technically considered city staff, the mayor said he encouraged people to download the app voluntarily.

The free app, which is available for download on the Apple and Google Play App Stores, notifies users who have tested positive for COVID-19 more than 15 minutes closer than two meters.

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

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