If you're worried that you might be infected with coronavirus, and who isn't, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted an online chatbot to help you check if you might be infected with COVID-19

To be clear: Only a physician or other qualified person with medical training can make the actual diagnosis However, the CDC's "self-checker," called Clara, will tell you through a series of screening questions whether you should rest, call a doctor, or call an ambulance immediately Unfortunately, this is only available to US residents

Clara can be activated from the large blue button on the CDC's page on coronavirus symptoms and testing

The program pops up in a separate window on the side and asks for your location, age, gender, symptoms, whether you have had contact with someone already affected, and whether you are in a nursing home

I repeated the question as many times as I could, being as true to my actual situation as possible He is a middle-aged man living in New York City, probably in good health, but convinced that he is going to die one way or another

If I answer "No" to "Are you sick or caring for someone who is sick?" then Clara says, "You seem fine"

If I answered yes, I was indeed sick and Clara asked my whereabouts, age, and gender When I answered that I had no symptoms other than a cough, was not in a nursing home, and had no pre-existing conditions, Clara told me to stay home and take care of myself If it gets worse, call your health care provider"

But if I said I had "severe and constant pain or pressure in my chest" or "gasping for breath," Clara told me to "call 911--it may be a medical emergency" (Several other symptoms prompted such a response, including seizures, confusion, and slurring, not all of which were related to COVID-19)

Clara was created by the CDC and Microsoft, the latter using Microsoft Azure Healthcare Bot software You can read about other implementations of the Healthcare Bot in this Microsoft blog post

Again, as Clara herself says, "This system does not replace the judgment or clinical assessment of a medical professional"

However, this chatbot should help allay the fears of many who fear infection and let those who are truly at risk know what to do