Another take: all these things (shutdowns, contact tracing, social distancing) are measures to give people a sense of security, and make them feel as if the PIC are doing something useful.

At the end of the day, the virus will do what the virus does, with or without apps. Until there's herd immunity or a vaccine, this will remain a politically charged issue and there will be constant jockeying for political clout (and I'm using the term 'political' in a sense that includes private entities trying to win favours in the eyes of the public).

I agree with Bruce, the contact tracing apps are goofy and I don't see how they will make the virus stop spreading without other changes such as widely available cheap home test kits.