With COVID-19 becoming a pandemic, the world is witnessing a challenging time. Every day more and more people are being tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus. This is making governments take more and more measures to check the spread. So, Verily, a subsidiary of Alphabet has introduced a new website that will provide free screening for COVID-19 to citizens.
In collaboration with the California Governor’s Office, the State, Federal and the Local Health Authorities, Verily’s new website is providing citizens with a free medical check-up at the nearest medical clinic. The check-up will be for symptoms of the global pandemic, COVID-19 and it will be absolutely free of cost.
Now, the website is currently live and people can go to the website and register with their Google accounts. After the registration process, citizens will have to answer a series of questions related to their health condition. Mainly these questions will be related to symptoms of the Coronavirus. After answering the given questions, the site will analyse if the citizen is eligible for the free screening or not.
Now the website is currently in its early stages and sometimes it doesn’t work. For instance, it asked me if I am experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 and I ticked “Yes”. However, on the next page, it said that “in-person COVID-19 testing through this program is not the right fit” for me. Apart from me, many users have reported that the site is rejecting eligibility even if they are ticking “Yes” for the questions.
This pilot screening program is a part of a bigger program known as “Project Baseline”. This program was introduced back in 2017 to monitor the health of the citizens. It concentrates on using advanced medical science to connect clinical research and clinical care.
Currently, the COVID-19 testing pilot program is available for the citizens residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. As there are rising cases of the disease in the Bay Area, Verily aims to check the spread of COVID-19 there. According to the company, as more and more testing kits become available, they will be expanding their support to other areas.
You can check out the blogpost of Project Baseline to learn more about the program. If you are a resident of the California Bay Area, you can head here to check out the website. If you are experiencing dry cough and respiratory issues, then immediately seek medical help. You can also isolate yourself to curb the spread of this dangerous disease.
