Google Maps now shows the cases of Covid-19 that exist in the area where you are

qasim khizer MalikSeptember 24, 2020

0 2 minutes read

Google Maps has introduced a new function that allows you to see the declared coronavirus cases in the area where you are or at the destination. Update your mobile to access it.

Google continues to add some new features to its applications to be better informed regarding the pandemic.

Today a new layer called Info Covid-19 has been released on Google Maps. If we activate it, it shows us the declared Covid-19 cases near your location or the place in the world you want to consult.

You have to tap on the layers icon, located in the upper right corner of the screen of the Google Maps version for iOS or Android. Along with the traditional layers of traffic, public transport, bicycle, etc., we will see a new icon called Covid-19 Info. Pressing it will show, in different colors, if we are in an area with few or many coronavirus cases. And the trend of the last days (if they go up or down):

The information covers the average number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the last seven days. For example, in the area you indicate.

The information can consult at the country, region, city or population level, or even neighborhood if they have this data.

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Google ensures that in no case do they use personal data. All published information comes from proven public agencies. Such as the World Health Organization, governments, and Johns Hopkins. The New York Times newspaper, and Wikipedia.

Although in its blog, the company assures that the information will appear in the 220 countries where Google Maps is available. Currently, it is not shown in the Spanish app, even though it has been updated today.

It will surely be available in the next few hours. Google has mentioned the iOS and Android apps. But it does not indicate whether this Covid-19 info layer will also appear in the web version of Google Maps.

A tool that can be of great help to take extra precautions if visiting areas with a high number of infections or to choose a route to walk or play sports.

In other cases, we see how climate change is notably increasing forest fires’ number, virulence, and frequency. Google wants to help its extinction and emergency services by updating the data every hour.
Wildfires can travel at breakneck speeds of up to 22 kilometers per hour and are dangerously unpredictable. The world burns more and more: the Amazon, Siberia, Australia, and California are some of the examples that can be cited just speaking from last year. Currently, focusing on the Californian case, the fires that hit this region of the United States include the second and third largest in the state’s recorded history. At least six people have died, and 200,000 have had to be evacuated from their homes.

The technological giant Google they have tried to contribute its bit from technological innovation to those in charge of controlling and extinguishing fires. For example, the finder adds satellite data to its mapping facility to show the precise locations of wildfires near real-time.