Google's Sister Verily Is Developing A Site To Help US Test Coronavirus Cases

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG is developing a website to help decide if an individual needs to be tested for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Verily And US Govt.

President Donald Trump during his address on Friday, where he declared COVID-19 a national emergency, said that the government is working with Alphabet subsidiary Google to determine who needs to be tested for COVID-19.

Google later clarified in a statement that the website is being developed by another Alphabet subsidiary, Verily.

Established as an independent subsidiary in 2015, Verily does research and development work in the field of life sciences.

"We are developing a tool to help triage individuals for Covid-19 testing," Verily said in a statement.

"We appreciate the support of government officials and industry partners and thank the Google engineers who have volunteered to be part of this effort."

How The Website Would Work

Deboraр Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator for the White House Task Force on Friday said that the Alphabet website would host a "screening questionnaire" for people who suspect they need to get tested for the virus.

The software would decide whether the individual needs to be tested based on their symptoms and risk factors.

"They would...be told where the drive-thru options would be for them to receive this test," Birx added. "The labs will then move to the high-throughput automated machines to be able to provide results in 24 to 36 hours.

What To Expect, And When

In the statement, Verily said that it is still "in early stages of development." A test version of the website would be rolled out in the Bay Area initially, and the company hopes of "expanding more broadly over time."

A Verily spokesperson told Time magazine that the test version could be available as soon as Monday. The company didn't confirm when the screening could be available nationwide.

Price Action

Alphabet's Class A shares closed 9.24% higher at $1,214.27 on Friday. Class C shares closed 9.4% higher at $1,219.73.