Google Maps launched community mobility reports on Tuesday to help public health officials combat COVID-19.
“With reports saying that a third of the world’s population is under some kind of social distancing measure, we’ve heard from public health officials to consider how we could help here. Since there is no vaccine or proven treatment, social distancing is the primary way to flatten the curve. However, communities have not had a lot of insight into whether their guidance is working’’ said Google Maps.
In its first COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports (https://www.blog.google/technology/health/covid-19-community-mobility-reports), the company said, “Just like how people can use Google Maps to identify when a local business tends to be the most crowded, we’re using the same aggregated, annonymised data to provide high-level insights into what has changed.’’
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People can visit the COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports website, pick their country and download a PDF that charts the percentage increase or decrease of movement across different high-level categories of places—such as retail and recreation, groceries and pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential.
The reports will show a percentage increase or decrease, rather than the absolute number of visits. The reports use aggregated, anonymised data to chart movement trends over time by geography.
“We will release these reports globally, providing national trends for 130-plus countries. We think these reports could support decisions about how to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Information about changes to essential trips can shape recommendations on business hours or inform delivery service offerings,’’ added the company.
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