Vanessa Murrey
You will soon see a message at the top of your Facebook and Instagram apps reminding you to wear a mask.
The company confirmed that they will add a message on the Facebook feed directing you to the Covid-19 information centre with links to the Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) for prevention and more information. Instagram will also have the same prompt with the CDC links
The social media giant has said the action has been prompted by the escalation of Covid-19 cases in the US. The country experienced an all time high on Wednesday with 50,000 confirmed cases in a single day. This has made businesses to reconsider their June reopening plans. The US now has more than 2.7 million confirmed cases with about 128,000 fatalities.
In Kenya, the disease seems to be on an upward trend as numbers reported daily continue to rise. There are currently 6,941 cases with 152 fatalities. A report released by KEMRI revealed that about 2.7 million Kenyans could have been exposed to the disease as blood donations tested positive for antibodies from as far back as March this year, when very few numbers were being reported.
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The CDC recommends that people wear masks in public places to protect others from possible infection. Masks prevent the spread of respiratory droplets that can spread the virus.
Facebook has worked hard to contain the spread of misinformation regarding the Covid-19 pandemic on its platforms in the last few months. They have added new features to try and curb the spread of misinformation and also provided useful resources directing people towards sources with trusted information.
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