Apple Maps to soon display coronavirus testing locations

san francisco — Apple has announced it will soon display coronavirus testing sites directly on its Maps app.

Towards this, the company has launched a portal for hospitals and healthcare providers to register as coronavirus screening locations. The concerned team will then review the application and upon approval, the location will appear in Apple Maps.

Apple Maps will be able to show information like the place name, the associated healthcare provider, contact phone number and website, 9To5Mac reported. It will also surface information about the type of testing location (laboratory, hospital, etc) and the nature of the site (like drive-through, parking lot, or building).

Apple is also asking applicants to state whether the testing location will require a doctor’s referral or a scheduled appointment.

New domain

Meanwhile, Apple has booked a domain name called AppleCoronavirus.com, after the iPhone maker and Google last week announced a joint effort to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the new coronavirus. The record’s domain information lists Apple as the registrant organisation.

The registrar is CSC Corporate Domains, a firm that protects domain names for large corporations, and is used by Apple for its domain name registrations, reports MacRumors.

“The new record indicates that Apple took possession of the domain name on Friday”. The domain does not currently point to an active website.

Apple and Google are launching a comprehensive solution that includes application programming interfaces and operating systemlevel tech (APIs) nology to assist in enabling contact tracing.

The tech giants will release APIs in May that enable interoperability between Android and iOS devices using apps from public health authorities. These official apps will be available for users to download via their respective app stores.

“In the coming months, Apple and Google will work to enable a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform by building this functionality into the underlying platforms,” the companies said.

Since Covid-19 can be transmitted through close proximity to affected individuals, public health officials have identified contact tracing as a valuable tool to help contain its spread.

Apple has already launched a Covid-19 website and app with a screening tool and other information about the new coronavirus pandemic. —