Coronavirus: WHO now provides information via WhatsApp chat

WhatsApp announces the fight against the false information about the Coronavirus and provides you information about COVID-19 from the World Health Organization (WHO).

If you want to find out about the coronavirus using a reputable source, you can now do so via WhatsApp on your Android smartphone or iPhone.

Facebook, which owns Messenger, provides information on its blog about the free notification service that WHO offers via Messenger as the virus spreads worldwide. According to Facebook, the service gives you fast, trustworthy and official information around the clock.

If you want to receive the WHO notifications via WhatsApp, you must first save the phone number +41 79 893 1892 in the contact list of your mobile phone or tablet so that it is then also shown in the WhatsApp contacts.

As soon as you send a message with "Hi" in WhatsApp (without quotation) to the telephone number mentioned, the service reacts automatically and provides you with up-to-date information about travel regulations or infection protection. The service also clears you up about incorrect information about the coronavirus.

Alternatively, you can start the service via a WHO link that WhatsApp has integrated into its coronavirus information hub. In the hub, the company, together with the WHO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), provide guidelines on how to use the messenger during the Corona crisis.

The WHO information in Messenger is currently in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. They will add other languages to the service in the coming week.

WhatsApp said it already supports the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) with funding of one million dollars, which will be made available in particular to the #CoronaVirusFacts alliance. This is responsible for reporting fake news.

How do find the WHO information service on WhatsApp? Feel free to answer us in the comment box below.