Google Doodle offers coronavirus tips, ‘Stay Home. Save Lives.’ [Updated]

Kyle Bradshaw | Apr 19 2020 - 10:40 pm PT

No two ways about it, the world is in a medical crisis the likes of which our generations have never experienced. COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, taking more lives each day. To help encourage as many people as possible to stay home, Google has replaced their homepage with a Doodle offering coronavirus tips, including a reminder to “Stay Home. Save Lives.”

Whenever possible, the best tip to everyone who wants to make an impact on the coronavirus pandemic is stay home. By visiting with as few people as possible, you limit the chances the virus has to spread either from you or to you.

To that end, Google has launched a Doodle showing some fantastic tips and suggestions of things you can be doing with your newfound time at home during the coronavirus stay at home advisory. For example, you can take time to read some novels, learn to play music, get back in shape, or simply call and talk to the ones you love.

Update 4/20: Nearly three weeks after originally launching the “Stay Home, Save Lives” Doodle, Google has once again replaced its homepage with a reminder of the many things you can do with your time at home along with other tips for keeping safe and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Doodle’s return caps off a two week series giving the important tip to thank every single person who is helping us get through this coronavirus crisis smoothly, from medical staff to sanitation workers and everyone in between.

Alongside the Doodle, Google’s homepage also includes a suggestion to check out the newly launched two-month free trial of Google Stadia Pro, which is a fantastic way to try your hand at high-quality video games without the need for dedicated gaming hardware. Google frames the promotion as incentive to make sure more people stay home.

Thank you for staying home. Enjoy free video games from Stadia Pro

Clicking the Doodle brings you to a full page of coronavirus tips such as ways to avoid both catching and spreading the virus. The tips are primarily sourced from the World Health Organization, but Google also links to your regional authority, such as the CDC in the United States.

The most important of the coronavirus tips Google shows is, again, to please stay home. For those times when you need to leave in order to get groceries, be sure to maintain a safe distance from others, with six feet or more being ideal.

The third tip to fighting the coronavirus is the one Google has been advocating the most, thus far, and that’s to wash your hands. If you need a helping hand to know how long you need to wash your hands — about forty seconds — simply say “Hey Google, help me wash my hands.” Or, if you want to learn a good technique to use for your forty second routine, Google provided a convenient, printable poster with another Doodle last month.

If you’re looking for more tips on ways to keep occupied at home during the coronavirus pandemic, your best bet may be the Humble Conquer COVID-19 Bundle, which includes a massive collection of games — including a VR game from Google — books, and more for a $30 donation to medical charities.