Calls for Alberta to adopt the federal COVID Alert app have increased as Alberta's daily COVID-19 cases have continued to rise in recent weeks.

Alberta and B.C. remain the only two provinces where the app remains unavailable, with Alberta having launched its own ABTraceTogether app in May, months prior to the late-July launch of the federal app.

Premier Jason Kenney, Health Minister Tyler Shandro, and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw have faced questions regarding why Alberta hasn't adopted the app during several recent press conferences, with all three citing several problems that could arise in doing so.

Minister Shandro was quoted last week saying the sudden switch from one app to the other would likely see a portion ABTraceTogether's 252,729 users lost in the transition.

ABTraceTogether's direct connection to the provincial contact tracing system has also been cited as one of the major factors in the decision.

The latest official word on the matter came from Premier Jason Kenney at a COVID-19 news conference on Friday.

During the conference, both the Premier and Dr. Deena Hinshaw encouraged Albertans to download the ABTraceTogether app in order to further strengthen the province's health response.

Likely hoping to quell the pervasive calls for Alberta to migrate over to COVID Alert, Kenney also reaffirmed the province's stance on the adoption of the federal app, claiming AHS' contact tracing system would be necessarily disrupted in doing so.

He also stated another reason, being "precisely because the federal app is not a contact tracing app."

The federal government's webpage for the app describes it as a tool to alert users of possible exposures before symptoms arise, while also stating: "the app does not replace manual contact tracing by local public health authorities."

Kenney also made a point of addressing claims that Alberta's hesitance to adopt COVID Alert is born of partisan disdain for the app's association with the federal government.

"This has nothing to do with one being federal or one being provincial. ABTraceTogether is, from our view, simply a better and more effective public health tool. It enables health officials directly to engage with those at risk, ensure positive COVID-19 cases and their close contacts isolate, and work to identify anyone else who may be exposed quickly and efficiently."

Though UCP officials had previously suggested the adoption of the federal app may be a possibility, Kenney's latest remarks seem to indicate that may not be the case anymore.