How tech giants are dealing with coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak which originated in China's Wuhan city has already taken lives of at least 305 people and infected more than 14,300 globally.

The virus has quickly turned into a pandemic with cases being reported across Australia, India, the US, France, Germany, Italy and UAE among others, reports Hindustan Times.

The World Health Organisation has declared the recent outbreak as a public health emergency and it has advised countries to gear up for local outbreaks.

At a time when the disease has claimed over 305 lives, governments are leaving no stone unturned to contain the disease and prevent it from spreading any further.

Apart from this, tech companies are taking active measures to safeguard their employees and prevent misinformation from creating confusion in the minds of the netizens.

How tech giant companies such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Apple etc are dealing with the Coronavirus outbreak is given below:

Facebook: Fake news is one of the biggest issues plaguing Facebook's platform. The company has said that it is actively working on reigning the spread of false and dangerous claims about the Coronavirus outbreak across its platforms. It is also doing fact-checking with independent third-party partners, notifying users who may have shared inaccurate information and disseminating verified advice. On Instagram, the company is restricting hastags that may be used to spread fake news.

In addition to this, the company has advised its employees to avoid travelling to China. It has advised its employees in China to work from home for some time.

Twitter: The microblogging site has permanently suspended the account of market blog Zero Hedge account for violating the company's policy on the spread of fake news. As per reports, Zero Hedge posted a news showing a genuine Chinese researcher as the man who created "the strain of coronavirus that's currently spreading around the world".

Google: The company has announced SOS Alert with WHO. Now, when users search for 'Coronavirus' or related topics on Search, they will see safety tips, information, resources and Twitter updates from WHO on the result page. Google has also announced a $250,000 grant from Google.org for the Chinese Red Cross to support Coronavirus relief operations. Additionally, the company is temporarily restricting its employees from travelling to China.

Apple: The iPhone maker has shut down all its stores in China till February 9. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the analysts during the earnings call last week that it was taking precautionary measures such as frequently deep cleaning its store and taking employees' temperature. Additionally, the company has restricted its employees from travelling to China.

Microsoft: Microsoft has asked its employees in China to work from home and restricted all non-essential travel to the country. The company has also pledged 1 million RMB ($144,000) to the Hubei Red Cross Foundation to help with the relief operations in the country.

Separately, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation have donated $10 million for relief operations.

Amazon: Like other companies, Amazon too has restricted employees from travelling to China. The company has also asked it employees who have returned or will be returning from an affected Chinese region to work from home for 14 days and get medical consultation before returning for work.

Others: HP, LG and Razr have restricted their employees from travelling to China. Foxconn has asked its employees, who had travelled to Taiwan for the Chinese new year, not to return to the Wuhan facility. Dell, on the other hand, has donated 2,88,321. AirBnB is allowing affected users and hosts to cancel their reservation without penalty.