NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2020) Google announced that it will soon roll out novel coronavirus alerts that will help users avoid affected public transit systems and also know in advance if they are eligible to go to a particular testing site.
"Transit alerts are rolling out in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, France, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom and the US where we have information from local transit agencies, with more coming soon," Google said on Monday. "Starting this week, alerts for medical facilities will be available in Indonesia, Israel, the Philippines, South Korea, and the US, and testing center alerts will be available in the US."
Google explained that the transit alerts will help users navigate through public transportation that might be impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic and restrictive measures implemented to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus and fight the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
"When you look up public transit directions for a trip that is likely to be affected by COVID-19 restrictions, we'll show relevant alerts from local transit agencies," Google said. "These alerts can help you prepare accordingly if government mandates impact transit services or require you to wear a mask on public transportation."
Google noted that the alerts on testing centers will provide information on sites available for testing and if users were eligible to go there.
"Because of COVID-19, it's increasingly important to know how crowded a train station might be at a particular time or whether the bus is running on a limited schedule," Google said. "Having this information before and during your trip is critical for both essential workers who need to safely navigate to work and will become more important for everyone as countries around the world begin to reopen."
The Google announcement came as an increasing number of countries move toward fully reopening their economies from the novel coronavirus-related shutdowns enforced since March. More than 7 million people have been infected worldwide and more than 400,000 have died.
