Google searches for 'coronavirus' can now direct users to testing centers
The list includes testing centers across 43 states; excluding states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma and Oregon, according to The Verge.
By ZACHARY KEYSERAn illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018.(photo credit: REUTERS/ARND WIEGMANN)
United States-based Google search users will now have access to the listings of over 2,000 COVID-19 diagnostic testing facilities across the country, by simply searching for terms related to the coronavirus.Whereas in other countries typing terms relating to coronavirus into the Google search bar will produce categories such as overview, symptoms, prevention, treatment and statistics appear in a column on the left-hand side of the screen, in the United States these same searches will now also produce a "testing" tab for users to explore.The list includes testing centers across 43 states; excluding states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma and Oregon, according to The Verge.Google is only listing testing locations that have been approved by health authorities to publish publicly - which is the reasoning behind the seven state exclusion. As time moves along, Google plans to add additional testing facilities to the tab, after the company has a chance to verify them, in order to create a more exhaustive list for the country as a whole.Google has been recently located at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, with regards to their efforts directed solely at combating the coronavirus - leading the vanguard of Silicon Valley by using the full weight of the company's technological prowess towards slowing the viral spread across the world.In late March, Google launched a United States-focused website with information about coronavirus guidance and testing in late March, as the country began working on slowing the spread of the highly contagious virus.The site, which consists of resources and links focused on the potentially deadly respiratory illness COVID-19, has also been adapted to appear in more languages as well as countries, including Israel.Google nearly two weeks ago released data on more than 131 countries, comparing trips in recent weeks to recreational venues, train and bus stations, grocery stores and workplaces with a five-week period earlier this year.For several countries, Google offers county-level data, which is helpful in countries such as the United States where lockdown orders are issued by county officials.Additionally, Apple and Google partnered up last week, saying that they will work together to create contact tracing technology that aims to slow the spread of the coronavirus by allowing users to opt into logging other phones they have been near.The rare collaboration between the two Silicon Valley companies, whose operating systems power 99% of the world's smartphones, could accelerate usage of apps that aim to get potentially infected individuals into testing or quarantine more quickly and reliably than existing systems in much of the world. Such tracing will play a vital role in managing the virus once lockdown orders end, health experts say.Reuters contributed to this report.
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