World Coronavirus Dispatch: Google-Apple join hands for contact-tracing

From two Silicon Valley giants joining hands, to WHO's warning against lifting lockdowns, to Russians having some fun at home

A rare partnership

Silicon Valley giants Apple and Google are developing technologies into their smartphone platforms that will alert users if they have come into contact with a person with Covid-19.

This will be out by mid-May, and users will have to ‘opt-in’. It’ll also have the ability to wirelessly exchange anonymous information with and via apps run by public health authorities.

This could be the most powerful initiative, significantly more impactful than local government apps, as over 95 percent smartphones in the world run on either Android or iOS. It has the potential to monitor a third of the