The Pakistan government has created a WhatsApp chatbot to offer its citizens information about the COVID-19 pandemic and details about testing facilities in their vicinity. The chatbot offers information in 7 languages, including English, Urdu, Punjabi and Kashmiri. The chatbot, called PK Gov Corona Helpline, can be joined by adding +923001111166 to your contacts, and can be initiated by sending “Hi”. https://twitter.com/PakPMO/status/1244648519396458497 We did not receive a reply from the chatbot using Indian numbers: The chatbot did not respond when we used Indian numbers that have country prefix +91 (we tried from on Vodafone, Airtel and Jio numbers), but upon using an American number (country prefix +1), the bot responded. [caption id="attachment_212540" align="aligncenter" width="473"] The chatbot did not return with a response to us when we used an Indian number[/caption] Information available from the chatbot: The chatbot offers general information about the virus, including symptoms and preventive measures to be taken. Unlike a similar chatbot created by the Indian government, Pakistan's chatbot gives information about nearest testing facilities along with the most recent numbers as well. The Indian chatbot, however, now also provides latest news related to coronavirus, including how different sectors are responding to it. The Indian bot also has an option to fact check some common misconceptions about the virus, including how it spreads and if there is a vaccine to cure the virus (which there isn’t yet). It also allows people from outside India to connect with the External Affairs Ministry, and get help with Visa related queries. …
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