Back in March, when the coronavirus global pandemic was first getting underway I wrote about some tracking apps that would, in theory, let you know if it was safe to visit any given area. However, these apps needed a certain amount of users to be effective, and not everyone was going to be using them. However, there is now another way to track the proficiency of COVID-19 in any given area. An app that everyone already uses: Google Maps.
The Verge explains what will be happening:
“Google Maps will soon include information on COVID-19 spread in states, counties, and some cities. Toggling on the ‘COVID’ layer in the app will show the seven-day average number of confirmed cases in each area per 100,000 people. Areas of the map will be color-coded based on case rate, and a label shows if cases are going up or down. The feature will roll out on Android and iOS this week.
The layer is designed to help people ‘make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do,’ wrote Sujoy Banerjee, a Google Maps project manager, in a blog post. Public health experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that people keep track of the amount of COVID-19 spread in their area to figure out the risk of certain activities. Transmission rates in local communities is important for parents to consider when deciding if they should send their kids to school and for families to monitor in advance of any holiday plans.
This is one of many pandemic-related features introduced in Google Maps over the past few months — the app also includes alerts about face-covering mandates on public transportation, information about takeout options at restaurants, and warnings to call ahead to a doctor’s office if you think you have COVID-19.”
Such information is a welcome addition to an app that most of us already use. Hopefully, it will help us feel comfortable going outside once again. Something that I have been hesitant to do thus far, partially because there was no way to know where to go, or what to do. Now there is.
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