Are you heading into a coronavirus hot spot? A new Google Maps feature can warn you
Google recently announced a new feature for its map app designed to help users “navigate safely” by sharing the latest coronavirus data available for where they are, or where they’re going.
Users won’t have to wonder if they’re heading into an area with a high level of coronavirus activity — they’ll know, when using the Google Map’s “COVID-19 info” layer, according to Google.
The new COVID-19 info layer is available on Google Maps for iOS and Android phones, and can be found alongside the other map application layers. Tap on the layers icon toward the top right of the screen, and select “COVID-19 info.”
The tool “shows critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area so you can make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do,” Google said in a blog post.
Using data from Johns Hopkins University, The New York Times, and Wikipedia, the COVID layer displays the average number of new cases per 100,000 for that part of the map, and an arrow indicating if cases are rising or falling, according to the blog post.
Additionally, map sections are color coded based on the number of new cases, from gray, to yellow, orange, dark orange, red, and dark red, with dark red being the worst.
“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,” Google said.
Google began rolling out the new feature last week, and it may take several days or more before it’s available to all iOS and Android users, outlets report.
