After launching a dedicated coronavirus hub globally a few weeks back, Google has now started adding helpful resources in its apps and services in India. This would help people fight misinformation and get essential details now that the lockdown has been extended to May 3 in the country.
“We have upped our work to curb misinformation across various platforms and prominently surface the latest updates and health advice from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and international health authorities across Search, Maps, YouTube and the COVID-19 Spot on Google Pay.”, wrote the company in a blog post.
According to the post, the COVID-19 India website was launched last week. It is available in English, Hindi, and Marathi languages for phones and is accessible in English and Hindi through Google Assistant on KaiOS feature phones. Google anticipates adding more regional languages soon.
In Google Search, you’ll see consolidated results for queries related to coronavirus along with tabs for sections having information about symptoms, prevention, treatments, news, and statistics.
In addition, YouTube now has a dedicated coronavirus news shelf curating trustworthy content from credible sources in the country. YouTube had previously made its news shelf available in 16 countries last month.
The company also highlights night shelters and local restaurants with delivery and takeout options on Google Maps. Google says it has covered over 1,500 food and night shelters across 33 cities so far.
Google Pay now has a feature called Nearby Spot listing local stores that are currently open. It is currently live in Bengaluru and will be expanding to Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi in the coming weeks. Google Pay’s donation section to PM-CARES fund has collected over ₹105 crores till now.
Apart from these, Google made its COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports available to help public health officials make efficient decisions regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic earlier this month.
