Coronavirus: Apple Works With US Government On Covid-19 App, Website

Apple, working with the government’s Coronavirus Task Force, the CDC and FEMA, has released an iOS app and website that provide information and self-diagnosis assistance related to Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Both offer a step-by-step questionnaire going over the user’s current health, recent travel and possible contact with known Covid-19 cases, before offering up-to-date advice from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) related to the user’s particular case.

The app and website are intended to make it easier for users to access timely information from trustworthy sources, Apple said.

They also provide best practice information on areas such as sanitation, social distancing, quarantining, monitoring symptoms and disinfecting surfaces.

Informational app

The app and website provides answers to frequently asked questions about Covid-19 from the CDC, while the app allows users to save previous screening results to refer to at a later date or to communicate to a healthcare provider.

The roughly 6MB app, listed on the App Store as Apple COVID-19,  runs on iPhones, iPads and other iOS devices running iOS 13.1 or later, while the website at www.apple.com/covid19 is accessible via any standard browser.

The Covid-19 app quickly rose to the No. 1 position for Health & Fitness apps on the App Store.

Users are not required to sign in with an Apple ID, and Apple said it would not collect users’ responses or share them with officials.

“The COVID-19 app has up-to-date information from trusted sources about the coronavirus disease that is impacting people across the world,” Apple said in a statement on the App Store.

“It has a screening tool so you can find out what you should do now for yourself or for a loved one. And it gives you access to resources you may need to feel supported and informed.”

Earlier this month Apple updated its Siri service, enabling it to offer advice to those asking questions related to the coronavirus.