COVID-19 is easily the most catastrophic global health crisis of the 21st century. As July 2020 came to a close, case counts rose to 18 million cases worldwide, with over 100,000 new cases coming every day. It’s clear that many countries, including the United States, were ill-prepared for the pandemic. As a result, many governments are looking to tech giants for help in the fight against the novel Coronavirus.
As one of the largest and most powerful tech companies in the world, Google stands to be one of the most effective allies in this fight. Armed with advanced Cloud technology and tracking algorithms, Google has more power to analyze the spread of Coronavirus than any one country. Fortunately, that’s exactly what it’s doing.
What Has Google Done to Fight Coronavirus?
In many ways, Google was already prepared for a global catastrophe like COVID-19. Now that person-to-person contact is no longer safe, many companies are increasing their remote workforce. As the majority of Google’s products and services only exist online, it stands to reason that it could be useful during the massive transition to remote work.
G Suite Essentials give teams of any size the tools they need to collaborate. Companies that need to manage projects, chat, or video conference can do so within one platform. Additionally, Google’s security network gives businesses peace of mind knowing that their private data won’t be compromised.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Google is helping businesses manage remote teams during the COVID-19 crisis, but they’re also doing a whole lot more. Let’s take a closer look at how Google is working alongside government agencies to fight Coronavirus.
How Google Is Working With the Government
With the globalization of the economy and the ease of travel, it’s no wonder that COVID-19 spread so rapidly. To deal with such a fast-moving virus, government agencies must move just as quickly. To help with this, Google is developing AI-based chat tech to help government agencies communicate more efficiently.
Additionally, Google is working to manage the growing library of COVID-19 data and research. As new discoveries and studies get released around the world, it can be hard for leading scientists to stay up-to-date with the plethora of data. It can be even harder for media organizations to keep the public informed with accurate information. Fortunately, Google’s machine-readable COVID-19 dataset makes it easier to store, share, scan, and analyze all of the available information related to the novel Coronavirus.
Finally, Google is working with government agencies to help identify potential “hot zones” in real-time. This gives health workers and local governments more time to develop a strategy before their local community gets hit by the virus. While Google still remains loyal to users and doesn’t use anyone’s information without permission, it does use the power of its own tech to track the spread of the virus through the population.
What Else Is Google Doing For Public Health?
While COVID-19 is at the forefront of Google’s public health efforts, it’s not the only issue that the company wants to address. In fact, Google is working with government agencies and non-profit organizations all over the world to increase life expectancies, promote good hygiene, fight misinformation, and give more people access to healthcare services.
For years, Google has been focusing on the state of healthcare in the US, though the company has expanded its efforts to countries all over the world. One area that Google Health, the division of Google focused on healthcare, is most interested in is accurate medical information. People all over the world use Google to get access to medical information. Unfortunately, the Internet isn’t the best resource for diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
That’s why Google’s algorithms are actively working to combat misinformation and provide the latest and most accurate information to consumers. Whether you want to research stem cell therapy for knees or the best at-home treatment for the flu, Google is pushing accurate, science-based research to the top of its search results. At the same time, Google is forcing websites that spread misinformation about medical treatments farther down in the search results. This, in turn, will help millions of people get accurate medical information and likely change the face of global health for years to come.
