Facebook activated a new feature to "Community Help" on March 31 that allows people to offer or request help from neighbors during the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg's website now allows users to volunteer their services or request from people in their area to make a donation as assistance during the coronavirus pandemic.
Facebook has now added the COVID-19 phenomenon to its list.
Users in the U.S. will be able to read posts within a 50-mile radius of their area or closer. According to Facebook, the idea was prompted by users providing or asking for help. Thus, they built a feature to make the process more seamless.
Along with the prevalence of the coronavirus, the social network has had its hands full responding to fake news, price-gouging on household products like hand sanitizer, and even phony coronavirus cures.
Launching "Community Help" on Tuesday, The company described the feature as "a place for people to request or offer help to neighbors, such as volunteering to deliver groceries or donating to a local food pantry or fundraiser."
The new tool is being rolled out in North America, U.K., Australia, and France.
One filter on the page permits users to narrow their focus on specific areas including different types of supplies, business or transport help wherein they can offer or receive help.
The added feature can also help people interact with their neighbors, help them pick up their goods, and donate supplies to the community during disasters.
"We've been seeing since the beginning people asking for help," according to Facebook app head Fidji Simo.
Netizens are able to scroll through a feed of updates, which shows people nearby offering help and what tasks they can contribute in.
The tech giant introduced the "Community Help" feature in 2017 and it is used by people to help each other in the advent of any natural or man-made disasters. Now, Facebook has decided to take advantage of it for the ongoing health dilemma across the globe.
"We have developed a number of crisis response tools, based on what we've learned from our community," according to Mike Nowak, Facebook's product director of social good in a blog post declaring the new feature in 2017.
"When there is a crisis, people use Facebook to let their friends and family know they're safe, learn and share more about what's happening, and help communities recover."
Other than the fact that Facebook has now launched "Community Help" on a global scale, this is also the first time it is being used for a health pandemic.
"Help Map," which was recently introduced by the community social network and Facebook competitor Nextdoor, is quite a similar feature but it has not yet seen prevalent adoption.
COVID-19 first made headlines in December last year. The disease was first detected in Wuhan, China. It has now infected almost every part of the world.
