Along with picking up the tab to test for COVID-19 across the country, Ottawa will track any possible contacts of those who test positive.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says federal employees are ready to make thousands of tracing calls-a-day, seven days-a-week.

”We need to accelerate our ability to do contact tracing.  After we’ve confirmed and isolated new cases, we have to get in touch with everyone who may have been exposed to the virus and make sure they take measures to quarantine and monitor themselves for symptoms or get tested,” adds Trudeau.

The prime minister says Ottawa’s trained employees who can make 3,600 tracing calls-a-day, plus Statistics Canada’s trained 1,700 interviewers who can make up to 20,000 such calls daily.

Trudeau adds the federal government’s looking into various technological solutions to assist in this, though cell phone apps raise privacy questions.

Ottawa’s looking into potential app options and the prime minister hopes to have more guidance in the coming weeks.