Apple launches coronavirus screening website, app

Apple on Friday launched a website and app designed to screen for COVID-19 and provide information on the coronavirus from vetted sources.

The screening tool and informational resources were developed in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the White House-led coronavirus task force and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The app and website let users answer a series of questions, including about risk factors and symptoms, and receive CDC guidance on what steps to follow next.

Apple said in a press release that the users will not be required to sign in to access the coronavirus software and that individual responses will not be sent to Apple or government agencies.

The company is not the only Silicon Valley giant to create new systems designed to address the coronavirus.

Google on Saturday launched a website “focused on education, prevention and local resources.”

President Trump originally announced that Google was creating a screening site, but that effort has actually been carried out by Verily, another Alphabet company. That service has been available in the Bay Area and plans to expand.