The World Health Organization (WHO) has created a health alert on WhatsApp to keep people aware and updated about the coronavirus pandemic and combat misinformation.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the move on his social media platform and said that they have worked together with the WHO to get “authoritative information” about coronavirus sent directly to one's WhatsApp account.
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WhatsApp, the world’s most widely used messaging service, in owned by Facebook.
According to Zuckerberg, “With WHO Health Alerts, you can receive their daily situation report, which has the latest numbers of cases by country around the world, as well as tips on how to protect yourself, and answers to frequently asked questions that you can easily send to friends and family.”
Here’s how you can check WHO health alert regarding CORONAVIRUS on WhatsApp
- To get all information from WHO on WhatsApp, one has to save the number +41 79 893 1892 on their phone contacts and simply text 'Hi' to get started.
- The messaging service caters to almost 2 billion people and allows WHO to provide information directly to the people who are in need of it.
- WhatsApp, which had earlier created a coronavirus information hub whatsapp.com/coronavirus, will now have the link to the WHO Health Alert as well.
- The WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub was launched in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
The coronavirus pandemic has spread to as many as 185 countries around the world has already affected over 2,50,000 people and claimed the lives of over 10,000.