Apple introduced features to encourage mask-wearing and hand-washing as part of its latest software for iPhones, Watches and other gadgets.
The company at its Worldwide Developers Conference introduced a new feature for Apple Watch to help guide people to wash their hands, and its popular memoji can now be updated to include a cloth covering.
The hand-washing follows Samsung’s lead, and it works by providing a countdown timer to make sure that users are scrubbing their hands for at least 20 seconds.
– WHO says global case uptick not a ‘testing phenomenon’
2:09 p.m. ET — While some countries are testing more, it is not the sole reason reported coronavirus cases are reaching record numbers, the World Health Organization said, adding hospitalizations and deaths are rising as well.
“We do not believe that this is a testing phenomenon,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program. “There definitely is a shift in the sense that the virus is now very well established on a global level,” he added.
In recent weeks in the U.S., some state and federal leaders have downplayed the recent rise in cases and hospitalizations, tying it to an increase in testing. On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he asked officials to “slow the testing down,” reiterating his claims that more testing was the reason the U.S. has the most cases in the world.
