Google has added a “COVID layer” to Google Mapsso users get information about COVID-19 cases across their state or city.
The new feature will be rolling out to Android and iOS devices this week. According to Sujoy Banerjee, Google Maps Product Manager, users will be able to see this data via a new tab in the top right corner of the screen called “COVID-19 info.”
By opening the tab, users will be able to see the weekly average of new COVID-19 cases (per 100,000 people) for the area they are looking at on Google Maps. Labels indicate whether cases are increasing or decreasing.
Google created a color-based codingto make it easier for users to better understand the data they see:
- Gray: no incidents
- Yellow: 1 – 10 incidents
- Orange: 10 – 20 incidents
- Dark orange: 20 – 30 incidents
- Κόκκινο: 30 – 40 περιστατικά
- Σκούρο κόκκινο: 40+ περιστατικά
Banerjee says the new Google Maps feature is a useful tool for “showing critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area so you can make better decisions about where to go and what to do.”
Information about cases is sourced from COVID-19 authorities , as well as Johns Hopkins , which already provides a real-time dashboard, the New York Times , the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation , and Wikipedia . All of these receive relevant information from official organizations such as governments, local departments , and the World Health Organization (WHO) health .
Google said that once the process is complete, data on cases will be visible for all 220 countries and territories supported on Google Maps.
Given that a country or city does not report new cases every day, some areas may have a gray color and may not have new information.
According to ZDNet, Google has also added new features to Google Maps that provide information to people who want to travel about the restrictive measures that each region has.
