Jun 09, 2020 11:08:00

Addition of a function that can confirm movement restrictions due to the new coronavirus and information on medical facilities to Google Maps

Google announced on June 8, 2020 (Monday) that Google Maps has been added with a function to check information on the new coronavirus regarding the use of cars and public transportation. New features of Google Maps, which are useful for obtaining information such as regulations and changes due to measures against the new coronavirus, are scheduled to be introduced sequentially mainly in the United States.

Get around safely with these new Google Maps features

https://www.blog.google/products/maps/get-around-safely-these-new-google-maps-features/

A new function added to Google Maps is that if you search for public transportation routes in areas affected by travel restrictions due to the spread of new coronavirus infection, alerts related to local transportation will be displayed. thing. The target countries at the time of writing the article are 13 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, France, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States. An alert will be displayed when there is a change in transportation schedule due to the spread of new coronavirus infection, or when there is a request to wear a mask.

The alert is displayed as below when displaying the route in Google Maps. By tapping the red frame part, you can check the details of flight reduction and suspension information of public transportation.

Also, in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, alerts will now be displayed when displaying routes that cross borders. For example, on a cross-border route from Mexico to the United States, an alert will be displayed saying 'Please check the entry restrictions for the new coronavirus before departure' as shown in the screen below.

In addition, when displaying the route to the medical facility, an alert reminding you to check the guidelines of each facility to reduce the burden on regional medical care, from the second week of June 2020 Indonesia, Israel, Philippines, It is scheduled to be introduced in Korea and the United States. For example, like the image below, it is said that 'You may need to make a reservation to test for new coronavirus infection at this facility. Please check the information before going'.

Regarding the new coronavirus update, Google Maps product manager Ramesh Nagarajan said, 'The new coronavirus alerts displayed on Google Maps use reliable data from local governments and governments. We are actively working with institutions around the world to provide useful data to more users through Google Maps.' To avoid congestion on public transportation, Mr. Nagarajan recommends using the congestion forecast for public transportation introduced in Google Maps in 2019 as well. In addition, it is undecided at the time of article creation whether a new function will be introduced to Google Maps in Japan.