India is turning to WhatsApp, the most popular app in the country, to create awareness about coronavirus pandemic.
Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, said on Saturday that citizens in the country can text a WhatsApp bot — called MyGov Corona Helpdesk — to get instant authoritative answers to their coronavirus queries such as the symptoms of the viral disease and how they could seek help.
An individual is required to text +919013151515 (or click on this shortcut link) to connect to the bot.
The bot was built by Mumbai-based firm Haptik Technologies, which local telecom giant Reliance Jio acquired last year, and the information is being provided by the nation’s Ministry of Health.
“The ‘MyGov Corona Helpdesk’ has been engineered to fight rumors, educate the masses and bring a sense of calm to the current chaos-like situation. We are committed to assisting the government with all our possible strengths and resources and hope that this chatbot can help the GoI spread the right information across the nation,” Aakrit Vaish, co-founder and chief executive of Haptik, told TechCrunch.
A screenshot of New Delhi’s WhatsApp bot
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization also launched a WhatsApp helpline, in partnership with the Facebook-owned company, to provide people with accurate health information related to the coronavirus.
The WHO Health Alert provides tips on how people could protect themselves, the latest news updates and findings on the pandemic, and answers to some of the frequently asked questions. People can sign up to this bot by clicking here.
More to follow…
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