US tech giant Google has announced that they are “partnering” with the Trump administration to develop a national website which would, in particular, contain “information about COVID-19 [coronavirus] symptoms, risk, and testing information”.
On Saturday, Google also stressed on its Twitter page that they are “fully aligned and continue to work with the US Government to contain the spread of COVID-19, inform citizens, and protect the health of our communities”.
“Google is partnering with the US Government in developing a nationwide website that includes information about COVID-19 symptoms, risk and testing information. (2/6)
— Google Communications (@Google_Comms) March 15, 2020
At the same time, the company declined to elaborate on when its coronavirus-related website would be available to users.
The remarks come after US President Donald Trump said that “Google is helping to develop a website that’s going to be very quickly done” and that about 1,700 engineers are involved in the process.
Shortly afterward, some media outlets asserted that Google ostensibly rejected POTUS’ statement about the company’s collaboration with Washington to create the COVID-19 website.
Vice President Mike Pence has, meanwhile, said that “very specific” information on the release of the website will be announced on Sunday at 5 p.m. EDT. (9:00 GMT).
“The objective here is to have a website up very quickly. We're working 24/7 on this. We're going to have very specific details on the rollout of this new public-private partnership and testing tomorrow at 5 o'clock”, he told reporters on Saturday.
The statement was preceded by Trump declaring a national emergency on Friday, in a move aimed at helping the government grapple with the increasing outbreak of the coronavirus.
There have been more than 1,600 confirmed cases of the virus in the US, with at least 41 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
