Google's Coronavirus-Testing Website Quickly Overwhelmed by Demand
March 16 2020 - 3:04PM
Dow Jones News
By Rob Copeland
SAN FRANCISCO -- A Google-affiliated website intended to help
direct potential coronavirus patients to testing facilities was
quickly overwhelmed by demand Monday, just a few hours after it
went live.
The website, hosted by Google sister company Verily Life
Sciences, launched late Sunday to potentially direct a small number
of patients in Northern California for viral testing. By midmorning
Monday, the platform appeared to have reached capacity, with users
receiving notice that no more appointments were available.
A Verily spokeswoman declined to answer questions about how many
people had been connected with treatment, or when capacity would be
expanded. She said in a statement, "In the first few days of this
pilot, we expect appointment availability to be limited as we stand
up operations and that testing capacity will increase in the days
to come."
The spokeswoman added that all potential appointments require a
call-back confirmation to schedule.
Like Google, Verily is a unit of Alphabet Inc.
The Trump administration, and to a lesser extent Google itself,
have been promoting the launch of the website for several days. Mr.
Trump said Friday that Google had assigned 1,700 employees to build
a website to "very quickly" determine whether patients needed to be
tested. Google didn't confirm that.
The website at launch was a fraction of what White House
officials previewed. It was a tool for two counties in the San
Francisco Bay Area, where Google is based, and only provided
guidance to patients without symptoms already. If individuals
inputted to the website that they had a severe fever, cough or
other ailments, Verily advised that they seek medical attention on
their own, rather than a screening.
The website is only available to those who read and speak
English, and requires users to log in with a Google account.
Google officials have avoided contradicting the president and
sought to align their efforts with the broader mission.
"We 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," the company said in a tweet
on Friday.
In a tweet on Sunday, Mr. Trump thanked Google for launching the
site and blamed the media for saying he had not been truthful.
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for
further comment.
--Andrew Restuccia contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 16, 2020 15:49 ET (19:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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