‘Clara’ provides instant coronavirus screenings to Americans

An online ‘bot’ called Clara provides medical recommendations based on the symptoms users enter into the system.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping through the United States causing emergency rooms to be backed up and doctors’ offices dealing with a logjam of appointments, what exactly are concerned people who believe they have caught the coronavirus supposed to do?

Luckily, “Clara” is here to help.

Clara is an online bot created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help concerned people who believe they may have contracted the coronavirus.

Simply visit the CDC website and click the “Corona Virus Self Checker” and Clara will begin asking you a series of questions related to your symptoms.

Examples of what Clara might conclude based on your symptoms are  “you are healthy” or “stay at home and call your health care provider within 24 hours” and in the worst-case scenario to call 911 right away.

Unfortunately, Clara only serves people living with the United States.

Before using Clara’s services the user must agree to the terms and conditions stating that the bot “is not intended for the diagnosis or treatment of disease or other conditions, including COVID-19,” but rather is meant to recommend what medical care may be necessary.

CNN reports 25,740 U.S. coronavirus cases have been confirmed as of Saturday and a total of 323 people have died from the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is still running short on coronavirus supplies such as ventilators and N-95 masks for health care facilities across the country.

New York State, which is particularly being hit hard by the coronavirus, is trying to preserve medical supplies by directing health care facilities to stop testing non-hospitalized patients

“At this point in the pandemic, demand for unnecessary testing is contributing to the rapidly diminishing supply of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and leading to a decreasing supply of swabs and viral transport media used to collect diagnostic specimens for COVID-19 testing. Testing may play a more significant role after the pandemic has peaked,” the New York Department of Health said in a statement.

White House officials announced on Saturday that the administration is working closely with American companies to help expedite restocking hospitals with the vital equipment they need.

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