Google says it’s not publishing a national-scale coronavirus site anytime soon after Trump announcement
(CNN)Google will not be publishing a national-scale website for coronavirus testing anytime soon, contrary to claims made by President Donald Trump during a Friday news conference.
“What we’re building is a triage tool that will live on ProjectBaseline.com, and we plan to pilot it in California next week,” said Carolyn Wang, a spokesperson for the Alphabet subsidiary, Verily.
“Our aspiration is for the triage tool to be used much more broadly over time. Initially, we’re linking it with several sites in the Bay Area to test and iterate, and collaborating closely with organizations like Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp who are also working on additional approaches to making testing more accessible and expedient in other areas.”
Verily’s statement sharply contrasts with Trump’s remarks Friday in the White House Rose Garden.
“I want to thank Google,” Trump said. “Google is helping to develop a website. It’s going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location.” The comment appeared to be a reference to the botched rollout of Healthcare.gov, the website used for the US government’s health insurance exchange, which was premiered by President Barack Obama’s administration.
Officials in the state of California were stunned Friday to see the White House present their graphic for a modest pilot program that California’s been developing with Alphabet as if it were a Trump administration program that was a nationwide initiative and ready to go, a knowledgeable source told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Still, a White House official, in reaction to Google’s response, doubled down Saturday, telling CNN that “the Trump administration is working with Google to develop a website Americans can go to determine whether a test is needed and, if so, facilitate testing at a nearby location. We expect to have more details in the days ahead.”
In addition to saying Friday that the website would be developed quickly, Trump claimed that 1,700 Google engineers were working on the project. Vice President Mike Pence later added the administration would be able to provide an update on the timing of the website’s launch by Sunday night.
During a White House briefing Saturday, Pence attempted to clarify when the Google website announced Friday would be widely available. He said Google is planning to launch the website on Monday, but added that launch will only be available in the San Francisco Bay Area. He said the goal is to expand that site to other areas of the country.
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Debbie Birx held up a sign at the Friday news conference that indicated users who showed symptoms would be directed to drive-through clinics. From there, users’ test samples would be shipped to labs, and patients would be able to view their results from a “screening website.”
It was unclear if Birx was referring to the Verily website. Verily did not immediately respond to questions about Birx’s sign, nor to questions about the accuracy of Trump’s claim about the number of employees involved or about Pence’s claim concerning the timing of the launch.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/13/politics/google-trump-coronavirus-site/index.html