Instead, a health-focused subsidiary owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet, intends to launch a small-scale website next week to begin to triage California-based patients. The website will aim to serve a broader population only "over time" -- not "very quickly," as Trump said.
What we're building is a triage tool that will live on ProjectBaseline.com, and we plan to pilot it in California next week," said Carolyn Wang, a spokesperson for the Alphabet subsidiary, Verily.
"Our aspiration is for the triage tool to be used much more broadly over time. Initially, we're linking it with several sites in the Bay Area to test and iterate, and collaborating closely with organizations like Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp who are also working on additional approaches to making testing more accessible and expedient in other areas."
Verily's statement sharply contrasts with Trump's remarks Friday in the White House Rose Garden.
"I want to thank Google," Trump said. "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."