More than one billion people turn to Google Maps for essential information about how to get from place to place. This week, Google is introducing a new COVID layer in Google Maps, 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.
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 (green is good, red is bad). Color coding also helps you easily distinguish the density of new cases in an area. Trending case data is visible at the country level for all 220 countries and territories that Google Maps supports, along with state or province, county, and city-level data where available.
Where Google gets the data
Data featured in the COVID layer comes from multiple authoritative sources, including Johns Hopkins, the New York Times, and Wikipedia. These sources get data from public health organizations like the World Health Organization, government health ministries, along with state and local health agencies and hospitals.
The COVID layer starts rolling out worldwide on Android and iOS this week.
