Yahoo Finance Siri will now help users check if they have coronavirus – but only in the US
gmail.comApple has given Siri the power to help people determine whether they have Covid-19 – but only in the US.
The smartphone giant has loaded its flagship voice assistant with information from US officials allowing it to advise people on their symptoms, offer isolation tips and direct them to telehealth apps.
Inquiries such as “hey Siri, do I have coronavirus?” will prompt a medical questionnaire and advice to call the emergency services if symptoms are serious enough.
But despite the worsening state of Britain’s infection, the service will not be available in the UK and Apple has not said whether it ever will be. British users who ask Siri the same question are simply directly to a UK government website containing similar information.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new feature is one of many attempts by tech giants to push accurate information to their users as health hoaxes and dangerous advice continue to ricochet around the internet.
Last week Facebook said it would use the very top of its news feed – perhaps the world’s the most valuable slice of online real estate - to inform its billions of users, on top of other efforts to suppress misinformation.
The World Health Organisation launched a coronavirus chatbot on WhatsApp, while Microsoft built a similar system for US public health authorities and Google launched a new information website.
