Virginia Department of Health creates COVID-19 symptom checker website


Virginia Department of Health creates COVID-19 symptom checker website

Virginians now have a new, free, tool to help them figure out if they have symptoms of coronavirus. It’s a website called COVID-Check.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In a partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, Buoy Health has developed the COVID-check website.

The digital company came from the Harvard Innovation Lab’s doctors and data scientists. COVID-Check has three sections: check your symptoms, find a test, and get answers.

You can start by going to the “symptoms” section. It’ll ask questions about symptoms related to coronavirus.

According to VDH officials those symptoms include having a cough, difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell.

If you have symptoms, you’re then screened for work and medical risk factors. From there it connects you with one of three options: a telehealth doctor’s consult, a recommendation of self-isolation, or — if it’s bad enough — hospitalization.

If you’re still not sure what to do from here, you can click on the “find a test” tab, enter your zip code and find the closest COVID-19 testing site.

Governor Ralph Northam said this resource can help end the pandemic.

“Testing and tracing are critical pieces of this puzzle as we move forward,” he said.

It’s a personalized, real-time self-assessment, based on the latest Centers for Disease Control recommendations.

Eliza Wilson, who is the head of product at Buoy Health, said, “Since we started partnering with the state of Massachusetts, we’ve saved 1,700 hours for health care workers, which is critical time-saving in this moment of crisis.”

While COVID-Check doesn’t replace emergency care, it uses artificial intelligence along with telehealth to help you figure out the next best step for you during the coronavirus pandemic.

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