The popular maps and navigation application Google Maps now has a tool that allows the user to see the spread of the coronavirus.
The new feature is now available in the app’s layer drop-down menu, on both iOS and Android devices. In this layer, you can see the average number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days. In addition, it shows if the trend of infections is downward or upward.
How can you see the new Google Maps layer? It is necessary to open the application and press the Layers button in the upper right corner of the screen. Next, you have to click on COVID-19 Information.
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
The tool is available in 220 countries and territories and uses data from “multiple authoritative sources, such as John Hopkins, The New York Times, and Wikipedia” which, in turn, take information from organizations such as the WHO, state ministries, local health agencies and hospitals.
The goal of the new feature is to help users “make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do” during the pandemic, the company said on its blog.
