Using a new “COVID layer” on Google Maps, people may see the latest infection trends by city and state.
It’s expected that Android and iOS users around the world will start seeing the update this week. COVID-19 information will be accessible via a new top-right corner tab, according to Sujoy Banerjee, Google Maps Product Manager.
To help you navigate the world safely, you'll start seeing information about new COVID cases in an area with data from sources like @nytimes, @JohnsHopkins, & @Wikipedia in a new layer on Maps.
Rolling out on iOS & Android, with more ways to stay up-to-date coming soon. 👍 pic.twitter.com/iWB02T0aAB
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) September 23, 2020
It was explained by Google that numerous authoritative sources, including Johns Hopkins, the New York Times, and Wikipedia, were used to compile the data for the layer.
“Public health organizations like the WHO, federal health ministries, as well as state and local health agencies and hospitals, provide data for these sources. The COVID case information in Search is already powered by several of these sources, and we’re now expanding this data to Google Maps, as well “The blog was viewed by the reader.
On Google Maps, users can hit the layers icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen and select “COVID-19 information.”. “Seven-day average of new cases of COVID per 100,000 individuals for the area of the map you’re looking at,” says the COVID Info settings, “and a label that indicates whether the cases are trending up or down.”
It goes on to say that the use of color coding makes it easier to see the density of new instances in a certain location. All 220 countries and territories supported by Google Maps can be viewed at the country level, as well as state or province, county, and city-level data when applicable.”
A seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 persons will thereafter be displayed in Maps. Caseloads are labeled to show whether they are rising or falling.
Google has also introduced color coding to make it easier for viewers to grasp the data on display:
Grey For Less Than 1 Case
Yellow For 1 – 10 Cases
Orange For 10 – 20 Cases
Dark Orange For 20 – 30 Cases
Red For 30 – 40 Cases
Dark Red For 40+ Cases
For the purposes of making better-informed decisions about where to go and what to do, the tool provides “important information concerning COVID-19 cases in a region.”
Johns Hopkins, the New York Times, JHU CSSE COVID-19 Data, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, all of which use public organizations as sources for case reports including government ministries, and local health agencies, and the World Health Organization, are all included in the real-time dashboard (WHO).
Also Read: 7 Advantages Of Online Faxing For Businesses You Should Know
All 220 nations and territories supported by Google Maps will have case data available after the rollout is complete, according to Google.
In the absence of timely or complete data from all countries or local authorities, some areas may be greyed out and devoid of trend information. Data from states, provinces, counties, and cities will be included when they are accessible.
During the month of June, Google rolled out a number of new features to Maps, including local alerts for trips that may be affected by the limits of COVID-19 as well as driving notifications for COVID-19 checkpoints.