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COVID-19 AppDate Pt 2: Fight the virus

In the second part of his COVID-19 AppDate special, SEAN BACHER highlights CoronaFighter, Bottles teaming up with Pick’n Pay, Vimbo Health, the Bolshoi Theatre and UK National Theatre performances, and YouCam MakeUp.

To read the first part of the COVID-19 AppDate special, click here.

CoronaFighter

The CoronaFighter service is designed to provide informative and factual news and self-diagnostic tools for COVID-19. It includes reliable statistics, resources and validated research that is crucial in catching cases early, and helps to communicate efficiently with medical staff. By providing one with the tools and information needed for self-monitoring, CoronaFighter reduces pressure on testing points and protects its users from the risk of infection presented by the testing centres themselves.

The easy-to-follow test gives South Africans ways to compare their current health profile to the latest from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a national public health institute of South Africa. 
To start using the service, sign-up at www.testforcovid.co.za with your email address, phone number or Google Account. Then supply CoronaFighter with a brief medical and travel history, and the app will be able to tell you what the latest NICD guidelines suggest you do next.

The platform was developed as an open-source initiative to ensure one gets the best possible CoronaFighter advice. Over 35 doctors, software engineers, creatives and marketers were able, in the space of one week, to create CoronaFighter.

Platform: Most computers and smartphones with and up-to-date Internet browser

Expect to pay: A free service

Stockists: Visit CoronaFighter here for registration instructions.

Vimbo Health

To help people take care of their mental health during lockdown,  Vimbo Health has released free audio meditations and a free wellness plan with simple recommendations for managing anxiety and isolation. 

Meditation reduces stress by taking focus away from worries and back to the present, and is recommended by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the ways to cope with anxiety caused by the outbreak.

Platform: Android and iOS

Expect to pay: Free downloads

Stockists: Visit Vimbo Health here for registration details.

Bottles and Pick ’n Pay

Bottles, a delivery service set up by Norman Goodfellows and specifically tailored to deliver alcohol and cigarettes to homes, has teamed up with Pick ’n Pay during lockdown.

This means that all grocery essentials from Pick ’n Pay will be delivered to homes across South Africa. Sadly, no, alcohol and cigarettes are considered essentials.

The service offers the following benefits:

  • Same day delivery: Most areas of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban.
  • Pricing: In-store prices are charged, with a standard delivery fee of R45, and service fee of R15.
  • Operating times: Monday – Friday: 9am to 2pm. Saturday and Sunday: 9am to 1pm.

Platform: Android and iOS

Expect to pay: A free download, but delivery fees are rather high.

Stockists: Visit the Bottles website here for downloading instructions.

Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow online operas and ballets

For the first time in its history, the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow has announced that it will broadcast several classical opera and ballet performances (known as the “Golden Series”) live on the theatre’s Youtube channel for free viewing.

The first ballet, Swan Lake, was broadcast on March 27. 

Other performances include The Sleeping Beauty, The Tsar’s Bride, Marco Spada, Boris Godunov and The Nutcracker, all of which will be available for this week.

Platform: Any computer with access to YouTube

Expect to pay: Free to watch 

Stockists: Visit the Moscow Grand Theatre Youtube Channel here

UK National Theatre Live

The National Theatre has also made several of its shows available to view via YouTube. The service will last until the end of April, and includes One Man Two Guvnors by Richard Bean, Jane Eyre by Sally Cookson, Treasure Island by Bryony Lavery andTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Keep your eye on the website, as there is talk of more titles being added.

Platform: Any computer with access to YouTube

Expect to pay: Free to watch

Stockists: Visit the National Theatre Live streaming page here.

YouCam MakeUp

Perfect Corporation, an AI beauty tech solutions provider, is helping global beauty communities remain digitally connected despite the limitations posed by COVID-19 social distancing, through interactive experiences offered by the virtual beauty app YouCam Makeup.

The app supports human interaction through digital experiences, including 1-on-1 on-demand beauty consultations and livestream beauty shows. The YouCam Makeup app works within a social network called the YouCam Community. Here users can share their beauty inspirations with fellow app users.

YouCam Makeup offers virtual experiences through the following:

  • Beauty Advisor 1-on-1 on-demand beauty consultations: YouCam Makeup Beauty Advisor 1-on-1 service recreates the beauty counter experience through an interactive facetime video chat with a beauty professional. Users can connect to the free on-demand service to receive a personalised beauty consultation, complete with virtual product and look try-ons, directly from their phone.
  • Livestream beauty shows: An interactive livestream channel for the YouCam Community where users can tune in to live beauty tutorials hosted by a curated network of YouCam influencers. 

Platform: Android and iOS

Expect to pay: A free download with in-app purchases

Stockists: Download YouCam Makeup by clicking on the following links:  App Store and Google Play.

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