Switzerland-based Roche is in taking a role on the front lines against the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The company was FDA fast-tracked for a COVID-19 test, and yesterday they announced shipments went out to labs all over the country. Last week 400,000 testing kits went out, and more will soon follow, which is terrific news.

“We are grateful to the FDA for accelerating the process to grant Emergency Use Authorization for this test. We began shipping test kits immediately so labs could start to offer high-volume testing as soon as possible and give more patients access to reliable diagnostics. Together, we can help combat this serious disease.” - CEO of Roche Diagnostics North America Matt Sause

The most fascinating thing that's happened since this news broke is that people are flocking to Roche's social media for more information and announcements on the testing kits as soon as they're available. We're able to track day-to-day the spike in Roche's followers and online buzz, as people seem desperate to find out more about this global pandemic and whether they're safe or not.

In a single day, over a thousand new people followed Roche on Twitter. What's impressive is that Roche had 200,000 followers in 2019 already, before the Coronavirus pandemic started.

Roche's Instagram following went up 14% since December; maybe everyone is looking to see what the test kits look like. 

And finally, Facebook likes went up 10% since late 2019, showing that people in the know definitely knew early that Roche could be a great contributor in helping out with scientific research and technology. To top this entire story off, we present you with some important advice from Roche's CEO.

“It’s about social distancing. It’s not joining any gatherings. It’s about washing our hands. That’s the most effective way to stop the spread of the virus.” - Severin Schwan, Roche CEO

About the Data:

Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: 

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