A University of Waterloo science student has developed a free online game called “Quarantrivia” to help players identify misinformation surrounding COVID-19.
To create “Quarantrivia,” Ridhi Patel worked with the university’s Faculty of Science and consulted official advice provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the game, players team up with ‘Dr. Pixel’ to remove a virus from ‘Pixel World’ by answering a series of multiple-choice questions about COVID-19. After that, you can take on additional questions via the New World: Phase 3 Round or Bonus Round modes. The game also includes links and resources to information from various health organizations about COVID-19.
According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, around 800 people were killed as a result of a false claim on social media that consuming highly concentrated alcohol could kill COVID-19. An additional 6,000 people were hospitalized due to this misinformation.
Therefore, efforts like Patel’s are intended to help inform people of such myths. So far, Patel has even gotten a shoutout from Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains.
Awesome initiative by Ridhi Patel, a UW student who wanted to dispel the many misconceptions about COVID-19. She created a trivia game to help people understand the virus.https://t.co/XU4GLMmbm1
— Navdeep Bains (@NavdeepSBains) August 15, 2020
Patel also told CBC News that she’s working with her professors to continue to iterate on the game to reflect new information on COVID-19 as it becomes available.
You can play “Quarantrivia” mobile or desktop here.
Source: University of Waterloo
