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Google Maps is getting a new layer that shows what?

Answer: COVID-19 spread data.

Closeup of the Google Maps app icon on a smartphone.
Shutterstock/BigTunaOnline
Want to know how many confirmed COVID-19 cases there are in your area? How about whether infection rates are trending up or down? If you use Google Maps, you’re in luck. The platform’s newest feature will be able to tell you that.

Slated to roll out to both the Android and iOS versions of the app later this week, the new feature adds a “COVID” layer to the map. By switching it on, users will see an overlay of COVID-19 data for a given area, including information like the seven-day average of confirmed cases per 100 people, case rate denoted by color-coded shading, and a label marking if cases are going up or down.

According to a blog post announcing the feature, Google is getting the data from “authoritative” sources like Johns Hopkins and The New York Times, which in turn get their data from health authorities like the World Health Organization.