CPA Practice Advisor - 12

APPS WE LOVE

By Gail Perry, CPA, Editor-in-Chief

Apps to Survive the Pandemic
WHAT DOES A person or a business need during a pandemic and how
can apps fill that need? We weren't sure ourselves, so we started
searching. Here are the results of that search.
PANDEMIC GAMES
There seems to be a lot of game playing going
on as we're all confined to our living quarters.
Beyond the traditional app games we might use
as filler during our normal lives, there are plenty
of games specifically geared toward helping us
either find a way out of the pandemic or relive
it over and over with a prize in mind. Here is a
sampling:
* Plague Inc. ($.99) is the game that encourages you
to wipe out the world's population and let nothing
stand in your way. The game has won many
awards, and the reviews - not just from players
but from major publications around the globe - are
excellent for the gamesmanship, the challenge,
and the quality of the product. (Note that earlier
this year the Cyberspace Administration of China
deemed the game illegal in China and it was
removed from the Apple app store)
* Pandemic The Board Game ($4.99) is the app
based on the popular board game where, instead
of killing everyone, your goal is the save the world
from four deadly diseases. Reviews are mixed.
There are multiple levels of difficulty.
* Not technically apps, this game and the next one
are particularly interesting for their educational
value. In the Vax epidemic prevention game you

12

MAY 2020 ■

have a chance to visualize how a disease spreads
while you make the life and death decisions about
who gets to die in order to save the largest group
of population.
* Just the Vax is an educational and "fun way to
learn about vaccines," designed for children and
disguised as a trivia game.

COVID-19-SPECIFIC APPS
Whether you are concerned about your symptoms, want to know how many cases have
been found in your area, or want to share your
information with others, these apps can help you
weather the pandemic:
* COVID Control, produced by Johns Hopkins
University, provides an opportunity for you
to anonymously report your temperature and
COVID-related symptoms daily along with your
zip code so that the potential of new outbreaks
can be tracked.
* In conjunction with the Center for Disease Control
(CDC), Apple has created its Apple COVID-19 app
which provides information and resources on
identifying symptoms and better understanding
the pandemic.
* Healthlynked COVID-19 Tracker allows you to
report your symptoms in order to determine an

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

early diagnosis. This app can send a notification
to your contacts so they can seek medical care
if they have been in contact with you. The app
reports the latest data from the World Health
Organization and shows hot spots on a world map.

LIVING UNDER LOCKDOWN APPS
We still need to carry on. If you are on lockdown,
there is no shortage of food available. Whether
you are in need of delivery/pickup options,
how-to-cook lessons, home entertainment, or
information on managing the overwhelmingness
of all of this, these apps may come in handy.
* Food deliver y: There is a plethora of apps
designed to bring food to your doorstep. GrubHub,
DoorDash, UberEats, Seamless, Postmates, and
Instacart will pick up what you want and deliver
it. Hours and destinations vary by location.
* Learn how to cook: You don't have to be a Top Chef
to cook like one. There are live and on-demand
videos available 24-7 to show you how to prepare
meals, along with recipes and step-by-step
instructions. Rather than getting overwhelmed
with it all, try thinking about what you would
order if only you could go out to your favorite
restaurant, and then try recreating that at home
(with the help of a food delivery service to get you
the ingredients you need).
* Others need food too. You may have a full
pantry, but many are struggling. The FoodFinder
app shows you where to find food assistance
programs in your area which you can use yourself,
recommend to others, or to which you can provide
donations so that they can carry on.
* Stress/anxiety management: We did an article
on this topic three years ago - long before the
pandemic occurred - now would be a good time to
revisit these apps to help you get through the long
days and nights. https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.
com/12299983/
* Media streaming: Fortunately, we live in the era
of streaming, so whether you go directly to the
television station websites or YouTube online, pay
for services such as HBO, Showtime, Amazon
Prime, Netflix, and Hulu, search for video content
online, or even connect with your public library's
free Kanopy service, there is plenty of video
entertainment to last through this pandemic. ■
https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/12299983/ https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/12299983/ http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
CPA Practice Advisor

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CPA Practice Advisor
