Facebook Inc. is adding a new section to its social network and to WhatsApp that will provide users with verified information about the coronavirus.

Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced the update in a virtual press conference today. “The broad consensus is that the biggest role that we can help play is encouraging people to take the social distancing orders seriously, especially folks who might feel like they’re not personally at risk,” Zuckerberg said during the meeting.

On Facebook, the information center will appear above the news feed. It will display links to the websites of health bodies such as the World Health Organization along with guidance from local authorities in a user’s region. The social network also plans to show certain posts by news organizations, politicians, journalists and celebrities to encourage people to take the necessary precautions against the coronavirus.

The information center will roll out in the U.S., U.K., Italy, France, Germany and Spain within the next 24 hours. Facebook plans to bring it to the rest of the world over the subsequent few days. For WhatsApp users, in turn, the company has set up a portal on the messaging service’s website that encourages social distancing and provides links to online coronavirus resources. 

“A lot of what we’re hearing right now is not that people haven’t heard that social distancing is important,” Zuckerberg said today. “What people need to be convinced of is that it’s important for them.”

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting not just tech giants’ user-facing activities but also internal operations. Google LLC today said that it’s pausing the release of new Chrome and Chrome OS because of “adjusted work schedules.” The search giant last week instructed all employees in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa to work from home in the interest of reducing health risks.

Ride-hailing app providers are having to make adjustments as well. Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. disabled carpooling options on their platform Tuesday, limiting trips to one passenger per vehicle. The move came as scooter startup Neutron Holdings Inc., better known as Lime, suspended services in California, Washington, Italy, France and Spain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 6.3% today, a drop of 1,338 points, following another big stock selloff. In a bid to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus, the Senate today passed a second aid bill that ensures free COVID-19 testing and makes more Americans eligible for paid emergency leave. The package is expected to be followed by a third round of emergency funding that could reportedly inject as much as $1 trillion into the economy, including potentially $500 billion in direct payments to individuals. 

Photo: Eston Bond/Flickr