On March 13, Google, through its Twitter handle, revealed it is developing a tool that will help to triage individuals for Covid-19 testing. The tool will first be used in the Bay Area before being gradually expanded to other users. The Bay Area is among the hardest hit with 114 of 335 reported cases in California. The triage site will be hosted at Project baseline, the Verily (Alphabet Subsidiary) website where people can sign up to take part in clinical trials. “Verily’s Project Baseline is working to deliver COVID-19 testing initially in select counties in the Bay Area to the highest risk populations as defined by the California Department of Public Health. If you are in the California Bay Area and interested in getting tested for COVID-19, complete an online screener based on guidelines from public health officials and see if testing is available for you through this program at this time,” Verily’s website reads. Project Baseline is a global health-mapping and clinical research initiative that functions in collaboration with outside scientists and volunteers. Verily is largely known for its wearables, such as the ECG-driven study watch. First identified in Wuhan China on December 31, Covid-19 has so far claimed confirmed 7,500 deaths and 188,433 infected people. The coronavirus, classified as a global pandemic, has prompted countries like France, Spain and Italy to impose lockdowns on tens of millions of people, while Australia ordered self-isolation of arriving foreigners. Other countries extended entry bans as the world sought to contain the spreading coronavirus.
