In a situation like the one we live in, having all the information about the Coronavirus and the changes that occur in the Alarm State is vital. Your smartphone has different tools that you can use to configure alerts on both issues and always be aware of orders received from the government.
In just a week we have gone from cancellations of classes, to the closing of shops, to the impossibility of going outside, to the opening and closing of hairdressing salons … and we are very afraid that this is only the beginning.
How can you receive Coronavirus alerts on your mobile?
Set emergency alerts on Android
In Android we have several ways to be informed of the evolution of the Covid-19 and of the measures that the State takes to try to stop the expansion of the virus.
Google alerts
To be the first to locate Coronavirus information on your mobile, you can activate Google alerts about it and receive notifications in the Mail. To do this, go to the Google Alerts section of the internet giant’s app (the easiest way is to locate it from the integrated mobile search engine) and enter the topic you want to follow in the search box at the top. Then adjust the settings, such as how often you want to see notifications, and create the alert.
You will receive all the news at the moment in your email.
Mobile alerts
By default, the alerts of our mobile are usually activated, but you can configure it to your liking. These Emergency Alerts are found within the Broadcast Settings menu, but if you cannot find them, it is again advisable to use the phone’s internal search engine.
They alert us of relevant information about emergencies within our work area, showing Push notifications on the mobile in the case of tornadoes and hurricanes (in the United States) or, as in the case at hand, of news in an Alarm State . They are divided into:
- AMBER Alerts : Bulletins with personal information (example, kidnapping of minors)
- Extreme threats : extreme health emergencies, terrorism, climate …
- Severe threats : Serious health emergencies, terrorism, climate …
Via Twitter
Twitter is a good source of information if we are able to filter all the fakes news that these days populate social networks. Many do not know but the app allows you to create alerts for the Coronavirus for mobile (or any other issue). Among the social network settings there is an option to allow you to activate crisis and emergency alerts.
Account settings> Settings and privacy Z Notifications> SMS notifications> Crisis and emergency alerts.
You can also receive notifications about the coronavirus from the Twitter accounts of the official media. To do this simply create a watch list and select All Tweets. You will now be notified by message when the account tweets new related information.
Xiaomi’s choice
The Chinese brand has created a space dedicated to providing information about the coronavirus COVID-19 from MIUI 11, so that only mobiles with this operating system can access it. This new function is activated without you having to do anything, automatically on the main screen of App Vault. To activate it you must follow this route:
Settings> Home Screen > App Vault
Of course, this tool does not allow configuring alerts for the mobile .
And on iPhone?
Apple‘s own support indicates that you can receive emergency alerts on the iPhone and Apple Watch, but in Spain we have no option to configure them manually. On our company phones, they are activated by default on the device and, upon receiving them, you can hear a special sound similar to an alarm in the following cases:
- Alerts issued by the government of your country or region
- Alerts related to imminent threats to your security or your life
- Alerts about extreme weather conditions
- Public safety alerts
Via Twitter
If we choose to use Twitter to keep us informed, we can do the same as in Android and mark the topics or media of interest related to the topic, in this case the Coronavirus.
To activate the alerts via Twitter on your iPhone, you must access the settings of your social network account and access the notification settings. Inside, you must select to receive SMS Notifications and, at the bottom of the screen, check the Crisis and Emergency Alerts option. You can also check the News option and select those related to the Chinese virus.
One more thing: STAY AT HOME
