Google has been closely monitoring the impact of the Novel Coronavirus since its inception early this year. The company has already taken several measures to help users stay safe and informed. The Mountain View-based tech giant recently added some safety features in Google Maps. Now, they have added a feature in Google Search and Google Assistant along with Maps that aims to helps users locate nearby Coronavirus testing centers.
The announcement came via a tweet and Google stated that they worked “closely” with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian government to add the feature in its apps and services. And to make this feature accessible to users, the results will be shown in English along with 8 other Indian languages. These include Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujrati and Marathi.
Now, with this feature integrated into Google Search, when users will search for keywords like “coronavirus testing”, “COVID-19 test” or “covid testing”, the search results will show information about nearby authorized COVID-19 testing centers.
In Google Assistant, when users will ask for Coronavirus testing, there will be a “Testing” tab on the results page. This tab will provide a list of nearby testing centers similar to Google search results.
In a similar manner, Google Maps will show the testing centers in a locality right there on the map. Users can then tap the centers to get more information like whether it is a private center or run by a government organization.
Finally, there a “learn more” option beside the search results that will redirect users to the official website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
