COVID-19: Google India brings valuable changes to Maps, Search, YouTube to fight virus

In the last few weeks, Google has made several valuable changes to its search engine on mobiles (iOS and Android) and PCs (via Chrome browser) for people to get genuine information on coronavirus in India. Just a few days ago, it offered more than 1500 locations of the food and night shelters in around 33 Indian cities on Google Maps and Search.

Now, the California-based technology company has further improved the search engine, Maps, YouTube with additional features. People will be able to find locally relevant health bulletin sourced from authorised government health agencies.

(Left) On Search, queries for Coronavirus now display consolidated results, with tabs for quick access to information on symptoms, prevention, and more (Picture credit: Google)

"Across YouTube’s homepage, search, and recommendation systems, we are elevating authoritative information sources such as the Ministery of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and World Health Organisation (WHO), driving users directly to these websites for trustworthy and reliable information. YouTube has also launched a Coronavirus News Shelf on the YouTube Homepage, which provides the latest news from authoritative media outlets regarding the outbreak," Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and Country Manager, Google India said in a statement.

Alphabet Inc-owned company has also warned that it has improved the algorithm that can detect and remove all the fake videos of COVID-19 that violate YouTube’s community guidelines, including those that discourage people from seeking medical treatment or encourage the use of unsubstantiated remedies to treat COVID-19.

Also, people can use voice-based Google Assistant feature to find helpful resources such as instructions for preventing the spread of COVID-19, the latest statistics on the proliferation of the virus, and local helpline numbers.

(Left) The India COVID-19 page, available in Hindi, English, and Marathi, and (Right) on KaiOS in Hindi and English via Google Assistant (Picture credit: Google)

The company in collaboration with MoHFW has already opened India region-specific COVID-19 website. It is available in English, Hindi and Marathi for smartphones, and in English and Hindi via Google Assistant for KaiOS feature phones. It will be rolled out soon in several other Indian languages.

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Also, to help migrant workers with low-end 2G feature phones, Google tied up with Vodafone-Idea and the subscribers just have to call toll-free number 000-800- 9191-000 to get food and night shelters' details.

(Left) Night Shelters and (Right) Night Food Shelters are now available on Google Maps, in English and Hindi (Picture credit: Google)

Google has also incorporated COVID-19 Spot on Google Pay that aggregates all pertinent information on the topic, sourced directly from the MoHFW.

It also helps users donate to PM-CARES or to NGOs such as SEEDS, Give India, United Way and Charities Aid Foundation, which are working towards the procurement of protective equipment for medical workers and relief for lockdown-impacted daily wagers.

So far, donations to PM-CARES on Google Pay have thus far collected over Rs 105 crores.

Also, Google has introduced the Nearby Spot feature that helps users find the nearest grocery store with a good stock of essential items. It is already rolled out in Bengaluru and will be launching in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi soon, Google said.

Live donations counter for PM-CARES (Left) and Nearby Spot (Right) on Google Pay (Picture credit: Google)

It can be noted Google has released COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports, which has captured the percentage change in traffic and movement across public places such as parks, transit stations, and grocery stores. However, this information is made available to the government and health department personnel only to and comes handy to view how people are maintaining social distancing during the ongoing nation-wide lockdown.

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