Google launches coronavirus website with health info, educational resources

On March 21, Google launched a website dedicated solely to the coronavirus. This website sole purpose is to provide information on the virus. This site includes several resources and tips with information about coronavirus. This site also includes more immediate information from official resources, like the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the World Health Organization. The website includes resources for Americans and features data on areas that could be affected by the pandemic. Also, Verily, a subsidiary of Googles parent company, Alphabet, recently also started a website for users who are concerned about their risk to the virus. That site is only available in some parts of California.

Sites like these are really helpful in a time like this, where fear and panic are among a lot of citizens. Theres is also a lot of misinformation out there, and Google’s involvement will make it easier to spread correct information to a large mass of people. Some people are reporting wrong information, and causing more hysteric and panic. This website will help calm down the masses. I think Google making a separate website for information on this will also make it easier for a lot of people, especially those who aren’t good with technology, like the elderly.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/03/21/coronavirus-google-launches-covid-19-website-tips-resources/2890776001/

4 thoughts on “Google launches coronavirus website with health info, educational resources

  1. Society definitely needed a website for factual information coming from reliable sources. I have heard a countless amount of rumors that people read or misinterpret. Rumors occur on the daily, however a national pandemic is not something that should be misunderstood. We play a huge role in stopping the spread, and I think the website that Google launched is definitely helping. Google has a huge influence in the search engine field – it is arguably the most popular and commonly used. I can picture a senior citizen who is not so in touch with technology going straight to Google to find out the answers about coronavirus. The country as a whole definitely needs to be informed of what is really going on and how serious the virus should be taken. Google’s efforts and influence is definitely helping us during this scary and unknown time.

  2. Google launching a new coronavirus website that has health info and educational resources is very helpful and is what society needs right now. People need a place they can go and get updated about the virus and also have a platform with resources that shows preventative measures. If they are pairing with places like the CDC and the World health organization, I think this is going to be a handy platform going forward. This disease has begun to cripple our society with fear, and when people start to panic, things always go south. This resource can help to inform people, which leads to less anxiety and better cooperation with the rules and regulations being put in place by officials. Honestly, having an online platform where people can consistently go for information helps limit fear and contact with other people. This is one of the best resources we can have at a time like this, where our nation is scared. Overall, the ease of accessibility of this tool allows for both the elderly and younger generations to get information quickly.

  3. I find it to be very important that someone mentioned Google’s release of a coronavirus info site, especially during a time like now when people are quick to jump on any information that they find on the internet and believe it to be true. I am going to use a personal example when explaining why this is true. Over the past two weeks I have been using the worldometers website to track the spread of coronavirus through the United States as well as the rest of the world, because it is updated very frequently and provides helpful info graphics and tables that outline the effects of the virus. Earlier this morning the website showed that there were over 40,000 cases of COVID-19 in the United States alone, and this was shocking to me due to the fact that there were 28,000 just the night before. I left the site and came back several hours later, only to find that the number had dropped to 32,000 and there was a note on the site. The note read that all cases had been previously self-reported, and the site recently decided to crack down on maintaining a reliable source of information by coordinating with the CDC and other reliable sources of power. This took me by surprise and made me realize how we need to be especially careful when reading information regarding things like the coronavirus, making sure that we are only getting our information from reputable sources and double-checking to make sure that everything can be backed accordingly.

    If you would like to see the site that I had been getting my information from (hopefully now it is held to a higher level of accountability), please see the link below:

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

  4. Social platform plays a big role when it comes to spreading awareness. In the past, becoming infected with a virus due to exposure was much more common, as information could not be instantaneously developed and distributed among the masses. Now, with a single click, one can access millions of websites, as well as live information, about how to prevent infection. This has unequivocally aided in the slowing of infection rates with many diseases. WIth Coronavirus, The best example of this has become a reality. Many people in social platforms are advocating for quarantine in many countries. It isn’t just the media outlets that influence people, but people themselves have started influencing, hopefully for the best, other people to stay home and prevent the virus from spreading.

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