Get Updates on COVID-19
Get Updates on COVID-19 is a web-based email service from the Government of Canada that was launched in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in Canada. Developed by Health Canada, the Canadian Digital Service (CDS), and Service Canada, service subscribers get emails directing them to important and authoritative content on the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 website.
The service has two components. CDS’s Notify platform sends the emails. Service Canada, in its role as Principal Publisher for canada.ca, developed the public facing forms and maintains the database to collect and store the information in its cloud space within Canada.
Built using existing products, Service Canada and CDS enhanced the backend and administrative functions, ensuring the database and connections were secure, and automating the transfer of the subscribers list to Notify. The service benefited from existing web publishing processes with guidance and advice on best practices for accessibility, analytics, official languages, UTM coding, content and style.
GitHub Resources
Service Documentation
- Service Register
- Blog Post I: Get Updates on COVID-19 Email Notification Service
- Blog Post II: Launching an Alpha
- Public Policy Forum: How ‘Get Updates on COVID-19’ Got Up and Going