How To Use The WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Service

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads out exponentially, more and more governments are using popular online communication methods to communicate with their citizens and provide official information. The British government has recently opened a direct WhatsApp communication channel. If you’re from the U.K., and not only, you can access info about the new coronavirus directly from your smartphone.

All that you have to do is tap this link and send the “Hi” WhatsApp message to the predefined phone number. You can also start the chat manually from your iPhone. Save the following phone number: (+44) 7860 064422 as your contact. You can type Gov.uk in the name field. Next, open WhatsApp and press the “New Chat” icon available in the top-right corner of the screen. Select Gov.uk from the contacts list, type “Hi” and send the message.

After you activate the chat, you will receive an automated reply with links to the U.K. governement’s latest guidance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. You also get links to the NHS website for official health adivce. More you can reply with a number from 1 to 9 to get more info about several topics related to the new coronavirus:
1. What is coronavirus?
2. Prevention.
3. Symptoms.
4. Stay at home.
5. Travel.
6. Latest numbers.
7. Mythbusters.
8. Share.
9. More information.

Fact: You don’t have to be a British citizen to be able to access this official WhatsApp info group regarding COVID-19. You also don’t need an U.K. phone number. We tested and it works worldwide. However, the “Latest numbers” category provides info about British numbers.

Tip: After inquiring one of the 9 categories, reply “MENU” to go back to main menu, before inquiring another category. Else you will receive an error message.
Fact: The main source of the info is the World Health Organization.

For the sake of demonstration we inquired for number “7” and checked out the Mythbusters category. Here is the reply:

There is a lot of false information around. These are the facts.
People all ages CAN be infected by the coronavirus. Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to become severely ill with the virus.
Cold weather and snow CANNOT kill the coronavirus.
The coronavirus CAN be transmitted in areas with hot and humid climates.
The coronavirus CANNOT be transmitted through mosquito bites.
There is NO evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs and cats can transmit the coronavirus.
Taking a hot bath DOES NOT prevent you from catching the coronavirus.
Hand dryers are NOT effective in killing the coronavirus.
Ultraviolet light SHOULD NOT be used for sterilization and CAN cause skin irritation.
Thermal scanners CAN detect if people have a fever but CANNOT detect whether or not someone had the coronavirus.
Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body WILL NOT kill viruses that have already entered your body.
Vaccines against pneumonia such as pneumococcal vaccine and Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) vaccine, DO NOT provide protection against the coronavirus.
There is NO evidence that regularly rinsing the nose with saline has protected people from infection with the coronavirus.
Garlic is healthy but there is NO evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from the coronavirus.
Antibiotics DO NOT work against viruses, antibiotics only works against bacteria.
To date, there is NO specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the coronavirus.
Check the facts on the WHO website: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

Have you tried this WhatsApp info channel related to the new Coronavirus. Are you finding it useful? Let us know in the comment section available below!