Google Maps Adds Feature To Identify COVID-19 Hot Zones

Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL navigation app Google Maps has introduced a COVID-19 "layer" that will show areas-wise information on the spread of the virus to the users, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.

What Happened: More than one billion people use Google Maps for navigation, the post said. During the pandemic, navigating safely is a prime concern.

Tapping the "COVID-19 info" from the layers button menu on the map will show "a seven-day average of new COVID cases per 100,000 people for the area," that will indicate which way are the coronavirus cases trending. Trending case data will be available for 220 supported countries

Color coding will help distinguish the density of the new cases in the selected area.

Google Maps is aggregating data for layers from authoritative sources like Johns Hopkins University, the New York Times, and Wikipedia, which "get data from public health organizations like the World Health Organization, government health ministries, along with state and local health agencies and hospitals," the blog said. Google uses the same sources for the information displayed on its search engine. 

Price Action: Alphabet's shares (GOOG) closed down 3.43% to $1,415.21 on Wednesday and GOOGL closed down 3.45% to $1,409.39.

Photo courtesy: Google LLC