Updated March 14th, 2020 at 11:52 IST
Google denies Trump's claim of nationwide Coronavirus portal, calls it a 'trial website'
While speaking in the White House, US President Donald Trump had claimed that Google was developing a nationwide portal for tracking Coronavirus in the US.
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While speaking in the White House on March 13, US President Donald Trump had claimed that Google was developing a nationwide portal for tracking and screening of Coronavirus in the US. He had also revealed that 1,700 engineers were working on it and had made "tremendous progress”. “It’s going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine if a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location”, Trump had said in the White House.
Read: Trump's Doctor Confirms He Shook Coronavirus-positive Person's Hand But 'no Need For Test'
However, Google was quick to respond to the US President's claim stating that another company under its umbrella called "Verily" was working on building a "trial website" at a much smaller scale. This website would help direct people to testing facilities in the Bay Area according to US media reports.
Read: Trump Declares Coronavirus Pandemic A National Emergency
Statement from Verily: "We are developing a tool to help triage individuals for Covid-19 testing. Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time.
— Google Communications (@Google_Comms)
“We appreciate the support of government officials and industry partners and thank the Google engineers who have volunteered to be part of this effort."
— Google Communications (@Google_Comms)
Read: Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: Trump Declares National Emergency In US
US declares Coronavirus 'a national emergency'
This comes soon after the US President declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump said, “I am officially declaring a national emergency,” freeing up as much as $50 billion for state and local governments to respond to the outbreak.
President @realDonaldTrump is officially declaring a National Emergency and ordering every state to set up emergency operations centers, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/dkdaJVsOVk
— The White House (@WhiteHouse)
Meanwhile, in spite of one of Bolsanaro's aides - who had met with Trump at his Florida resort 'Mar-A-Lago' event being tested positive, Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence has not yet been tested for the disease. The White House stated that there was 'no need' to do so and that neither Trump nor Pence, would follow any self-quarantine protocols, as they showed no symptoms for COVID-19. According to official figures, there are at least 2,174 coronavirus cases in the US and 41 deaths to date.
Read: United Nations Asks All Staff To Telecommute Until April 12 Due To Coronavirus Outbreak
(With Agency Inputs)
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Published March 14th, 2020 at 11:52 IST