Alphabet’s life sciences division Verily has floated a coronavirus screening and testing website in California. President Donald Trump had initially told reporters that Google was creating the website for the whole of the US.
The website will decide the order of treatment for those suspected with the disease, then it will direct those eligible for tests to local testing sites. The site is, however, only accessible to people living in the Bay Area of California. More specifically they must be residents of Santa Clara County and San Mateo County.
To qualify for using it, a person must also be above 18 and be able to speak English. Also, only US residents can access it.
Verily’s website asks users: “Are you currently experiencing severe cough, shortness of breath, fever, or other concerning symptoms?”
If a person answers no, the person is then asked to log in with a google account and fill an informed consent authorisation form. Those without a google account will have to open one to use the site.
Verily’s screening website then asks a series of questions about the person’s symptoms. The observation was tweeted by Buzz Feed’s Ryan Mac.
Google’s online Coronavirus screening tool seems to be working incorrectly. The process only triggers the screening process once you’ve answered “no” to having symptoms. https://t.co/whF1aez12f pic.twitter.com/cWJYIHh3Cv
— Ryan Mac 🙃 (@RMac18) March 16, 2020
Also Read:
– Trump Allegedly Lied About 1,700 Google Employees Building A COVID-19 Website
– Google Tells Employees Everywhere To Work From Home To Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus
– German Media Reports That Trump Offered To Buy Exclusive Rights To A COVID-19 Vaccine
Verily says that “your information will not be used for advertising”. Although it also acknowledges that it will share it with a series of organisations.
“Ultimately, our goal is to help local authorities expand testing access in California as the need continues to increase. The program is in its early stages, and we will take the time to assess operations at pilot sites in the Bay Area before rolling out to additional sites.
“We are working closely with Governor [Gavin] Newsom’s office, federal authorities, and local public health authorities to ensure we have the right capabilities in place to help more people over the coming weeks,” the company said in a blog post.
The website is definitely what Donald Trump claims to be developing for the US in partnership with Google. It is also clear that 1,700 Google engineers are not working on Verily’s coronavirus screening website as Trump claimed.
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