And that’s how Google ended the pandemic
During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Google Maps introduced a new layer which let users track the number of current COVID-19 cases as well as the trend in a given area. Since then, it’s added special checkboxes for businesses that have taken precautions against the spread of disease. Nowadays, the visibility of the virus has faded thanks to a variety of reasons. Chalk up one more reason: Google Maps has dropped the COVID-19 filter.
Google actually took away the layer back in September (via 9to5Google) — which speaks not only to how many people were using it at the time, but how many people were actually using it during the course of the pandemic — noting that as people have gained access to vaccines and other resources, “their information needs have evolved as well.”
Vaccine clinics and testing sites will continue to appear in search results on Maps for as long as the need remains.
Of course, Google doesn’t get to declare that the pandemic is officially over and neither do governments. Caseloads may have dropped thanks in part to vaccine distribution, but health authorities have also redefined terms as to how COVID-19 cases are acquired and have also reduced how often they’re reporting them.
All this to say that society as a whole isn’t out of the woods yet and some people may never be able to shake it off whether they fell victim to COVID or are immunocompromised enough to be excluded from participation in a lot of spaces. Keep an eye on this space.
