What the Facts Are

Mr. Trump inaccurately described a website in development to mitigate the outbreak.

What Mr. Trump Said

“I want to thank Google. Google is helping to develop a website, it’s going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location.”

This is misleading. Mr. Trump misstated the company developing the website and exaggerated its scope. After Mr. Trump spoke, Google issued a statement on Twitter from Verily, a separate subsidiary of Google’s parent company.

“We are developing a tool to help triage individuals for Covid-19 testing. Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time,” the statement read.

A spokeswoman for Verily said it had originally intended for the website to be used only by health care workers. Mr. Trump’s statement prompted the company to make it available to the public. The site will direct people to “pilot sites” for testing in the Bay Area, the spokeswoman said. If the pilot goes well, Verily aims to deploy the project nationwide, but there is no timetable for a national rollout.

what the facts are

Mr. Trump again mischaracterized travel restrictions imposed on certain European countries.

What Mr. Trump Said

“As you know, Europe was just designated as the hot spot right now and we closed that border a while ago.”

This is misleading. Mr. Trump imposed some travel restrictions on 26 European countries on Wednesday night, but those restrictions do not go into effect until midnight on Friday and do not amount to a total shutting down of the border.

The restrictions bar the entry of foreign nationals who have been to any of the 26 countries that make up Europe’s Schengen Area of open borders within 14 days. That area does not include more than 20 other European countries, including Britain. The proclamation also does not apply to American citizens, permanent residents, their immediate families, or those who are members of air or sea crews.