In a bid to help people navigate safely in the pandemic times, Google has added the COVID layer in Maps that will show critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area people plan to visit in 220 countries.
The Covid layer in Google Maps will start rolling out worldwide on Android and iOS this week.
Announcing the same, Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted,
This week, we’re introducing the COVID layer in @GoogleMaps, a tool that 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. https://t.co/7Esqnq0JO7
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) September 23, 2020
How it works
When you open Google Maps, tap on the layers button on the top right hand corner of your screen and click on “COVID-19 info”. You’ll then see a seven-day average of new COVID cases per 100,000 people for the area of the map you’re looking at, and a label that indicates whether the cases are trending up or down. Color coding also helps you easily distinguish the density of new cases in an area.
