The government has just dropped an official app to send the latest coronavirus updates straight into your hot little hand.
Coronavirus Australia, which is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, will deliver news, provide official health advice, and even allow users to check their symptoms. It also includes a live map showing each state’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“That will assist you to get the accurate and timely information about what is being done by governments around the country to support you, as you and your family, and your household and your community work through the difficult months ahead because of the coronavirus,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday.
He said the app, developed in partnership with Aussie tech giant Atlassian, would combat all the “gossip and nonsense” spreading around social media.
“It’s important that we report the facts in this. Everybody has a role to play to ensure that people are getting the right information, and we will seek to counter those things directly as I have done today,” he said.
Facebook and Twitter have seen a barrage of coronavirus hoaxes and viral fake news posts in recent weeks, including posts disputing the effectiveness of hand sanitiser, infographics advising against the use of facemasks by people with beards, and even a myth that cocaine prevents COVID-19.
In addition, the government has also launched an official WhatsApp channel, meaning you now have an alternative to the family group chat your uncle keeps spamming with coronavirus conspiracy theories. Tell him to join it.
