Technology giant Google has added a COVID layer to Google Maps that will show critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area people plan to visit. This is being rolled out worldwide in 220 countries. Google said in a statement that it is so ‘you can make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do’.
The Covid layer in Google Maps will start rolling out worldwide on Android and iOS this week.
Data featured in the COVID layer comes from multiple authoritative sources, including Johns Hopkins, the New York Times, and Wikipedia. These sources get data from public health organizations like the World Health Organization, government health ministries, along with state and local health agencies and hospitals.
“Many of these sources already power COVID case information in Search, and we’re now expanding this data to Google Maps,” Google said.
How it works
When you open Google Maps, the layers button on the top right corner of the screen should be pressed on, which will have "Covid-19 info", along with other layers.
"You'll then see a seven-day average of new Covid cases per 100,000 people for the area of the map you're looking at, and a label that indicates whether the cases are trending up or down," Sujoy Banerjee, Product Manager, Google Maps, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Areas will be colour coded to help people easily distinguish the density of new cases in an area. Trending case data is visible at the country level for all 220 countries and territories that Google
Maps supports, along with state or province, county, and city-level data where available.
More than one billion people turn to Google Maps for essential information about how to get from place to place – especially during the pandemic when safety concerns are top of mind.
"Features like popular times and live busyness, Covid-19 alerts in transit, and Covid checkpoints in driving navigation were all designed to help you stay safe when you're out and about," Banerjee said.
With IANS inputs