Coronavirus: 6 steps you can take to prevent it
March 21, 2020 at 2:56 PM EDT – Updated March 21 at 3:14 PM
(AP) – Google has launched a new website and enhanced its search options for people seeking information about the new coronavirus, but the effort falls short of a plan initially announced by President Donald Trump.
As of Saturday, when U.S. users type in search terms like “coronavirus,” information including symptoms and links to state health departments and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will pop up on the right.
Google also unveiled a new website that links users to data, safety videos and relief efforts.
Google said the website will soon be available in more languages and countries.
A little more than a week ago, Trump said Google would facilitate a website that would guide users through a series of questions to determine whether they should be screened for the virus.
Then it would direct them to a local testing location. But that was not a nationwide effort.
Verily, a Google sibling company focused on health care, confirmed it was working on such a site, but so far it is only available in certain counties in the San Francisco area.
Google also announced Friday it will no longer hold its annual developer conference this year. The Google I/O conference was initially moved online, but the company said it has been canceled to comply with California’s “shelter in place” directives.
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