Several tech companies are working together to help stop the spread of Coronavirus all over the world. Google and Apple are already working on an app to let users know if they’ve been around someone who tested positive for the deadly virus. Now, Facebook has launched a county-by-county map of the US showing prevalence of self-reported COVID-19 symptoms.
The social media giant has released this in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University’s Delphi epidemiological research center. Facebook has also confirmed that such maps will soon be released for other countries globally to prevent the spread of the disease. The US map shows an estimated percentage of people with COVID-19 symptoms, not confirmed cases.
Watch: Secret Android Features you didn’t know about
The maps will reportedly be updated on a daily basis, and it has been launched to help health officials allocate resources. This map will help the officials decide where parts of society can be reopened. “Facebook doesn’t receive, collect or store individual survey responses. This map is not intended for diagnostic or treatment purposes, or for guidance on any type of travel,” said the social networking giant.
Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Delphi Research Center on Monday made public the initial results of their US symptom survey that was promoted on Facebook. The survey results, combined with data from additional sources, provide real-time indications of COVID-19 activity not previously available from any other source. CMU launched its COVIDcast site, featuring estimates of coronavirus activity based on those same surveys from Facebook users.
“Getting accurate county-by-county data from across the United States is challenging, and obtaining such focused data from across the whole world is even harder,” Mark Zuckerberg said. Later this week, the COVIDcast site will debut interactive heat maps of the United States, displaying survey estimates from not only Facebook, but also Google users. The maps will also include anonymized data provided by other partners. Most of the data sources are available on a county level and the researchers say they have good coverage of the 601 US counties with at least 100,000 people.
– With inputs from IANS
