Maltese Doctors Set Up Facebook Chatbot Dedicated To Answering All Your Coronavirus Queries
Four doctors and one logistician have set up a new Facebook chatbot with the intent to solely answer all your coronavirus-related questions.
Wenliang is the private initiative of pressure group Digital Health Malta who set up the chatbot with the intent of using social media and technology as a tool to answer basic questions you may have about the coronavirus.
The chatbot, named after the Chinese doctor who died from coronavirus, takes official information from the World Health Organisation, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and National Health Service, and compiles them into bite-sized information chunks delivered to you through Facebook messenger.
Wenliang is still at its beta stage, and while it has its hiccups, it does provide correct information about the coronavirus amidst the current climate of misinformation circulating social media at the moment.
The chatbot has the ability to answer questions like ‘do I need to wash my hands?’ and ‘what are the symptoms?’
The chatbot also comes with a set of predefined questions and answers like ‘What is COVID-19?’ as well as official recommendations on what you can do to protect yourself, how to go about self-quarantine and what treatments there are for coronavirus.
Although Wenliang struggles with more complex questions, it fulfills its duty of providing the essential facts one might have about the coronavirus.
Digital Health Malta hopes that their chatbot will also relieve some pressure from the government helplines, which are currently being bombarded with calls from the public.
Have you tried the Wenliang chatbox? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below
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