Social media platform Facebook has expanded its 'Covid-19 Announcement' in India that will help health departments in the country share essential pandemic related updates with their communities.
Facebook is partnering with 33 states and union territories to roll out this tool in their respective jurisdictions.
India is the second country after the US to launch this feature.
The feature works when posts by State health department pages are marked as Covid-19 Announcements on Facebook. The tool helps amplify the reach of the announcement, so the information can reach the of people of the said State.
It will notify the locals of an affected region about the availability of resources through the Covid-19 Information Centre.
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Facebook tool can help push credible info
"This is part of our ongoing efforts to support the public health authorities' work to keep people safe and updated with credible information during the coronavirus public health crisis," Facebook said in a post.
"The Covid-19 Announcement feature will give health departments the ability to push out timely, credible Covid-19 and vaccine information to people in their local communities/ state jurisdictions. States will be able to issue these alerts statewide or to specific cities within their state," Facebook added.
Facebook said the tool can be used to communicate:
*Information on existing Covid-19 resources, such as helplines.
*Updates on hospital bed availability in districts, such as Intensive *Care Unit (ICU) beds and oxygen supported beds.
*Changes to existing Covid-19 rules and regulations that can impact communities and day-to-day actions, such as lockdowns, night curfews and changes to treatment protocols.
*Information about vaccine eligibility and registration, and the logistics of acquiring a vaccine.
*Accurate information on Covid-19 appropriate behavior.
*Preventive behavioral health measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
