Google has revealed that its free mapping service would be updated this week, with excellent features. One of the feature includes colour-coding that maps out areas infected with COVID-19 cases, the tech giant said in a blog post.
Using the new “COVID-19” option in a layers feature on the top corner of a screen will enhance maps using the latest 7-day average of cases per 100,000 people in areas being viewed, it said.
Maps product manager, Sujoy Banerjee said: “There would also be a label which will help users know whether the number of COVID-19 cases in a particular spot is trending up or down.
“The tool is meant to provide “critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area so you can make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do,” Banerjee said.
“Data used in the COVID-19 layer comes from sources including Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins hospital, the New York Times, and Wikipedia, which get information from public health organisations such as the World Health Organization and government health ministries”. He said
The COVID-19 layer feature would be out this week worldwide in versions of the map app tailored for mobile devices powered by Apple or Google-backed Android software.
