The deadly COVID-19 pandemic is causing fear and chaos all over the world. The number of lives taken by the novel coronavirus, along with the number of infected cases is staggering. With the recent spike in the number of infected cases in the US and in other parts of the world, Apple roll out a new update that allows Siri to assist users who ask if they have the coronavirus.
COVID-19 Equipped Siri
A Twitter user named Alex Cordova shared on the social networking site that the Cupertino tech giant rolled out a COVID-19 symptom triage tool with Siri. He shared that through this, Apple product users could ask the voice assistant questions related to COVID-19. For instance, a user could ask Siri how would he know if he has a COVID-19.
Siri will then walk the user through a flow approved by the CDC. Apple did not make any announcement related to the recent Siri update. However, users began noticing it since Saturday. The Apple voice assistant will ask users if they are experiencing symptoms of the deadly disease like shortness of breath, fever, and dry cough.
After that, Siri would advise the user who exhibits life-threatening symptoms to call 911. If the user claims that the symptoms are not life threatening or extreme, the Apple voice assistant will advise that the user should stay home and as much as possible self isolate. Siri also tells the user to seek medical help should the user feel that the symptoms are getting worse.
Moreover, Siri also offers users a link to the App Store so users could download telehealth apps and receive digital or virtual consultation. Interestingly, the answers that Siri gives to users come from the US Public Health Service (USPHS), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also input on the updated Siri.
At the time of this publication, the service is only available in the US. Apple has not yet revealed when the service would be available to other regions.
Samsung Galaxy Sanitizing Service
Apple is not alone in its goal to help users fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, Samsung launched its Galaxy Sanitizing Service, which aims to disinfect and sanitize Galaxy phones in 19 countries all over the world. The South Korean tech and electronics giant uses UV-C light to sanitize smartphones.
Apple and Samsung are just some of the big names in the smartphone and tech industry that are working along with the consumers in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
