Microsoft on Monday announced new features for its interactive Covid-19 tracking map, the Bing Covid-19 Tracker to provide the latest updates on the pandemic in India.
The Bing Covid-19 tracker will offer pandemic related content in nine Indian languages. The tracker now supports Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, and Kannada. Users can select their preferred language by clicking on an icon on the top of the page that offers a drop-down menu listing languages supported.
Microsoft has now also linked the tracker with Apollo Hospitals’ self-assessment bot for Covid-19. Apollo had launched its AI self-assessment bot for users to assess their own symptoms and gauge their level of risk in contracting Covid-19. The assessment is based on questions related to a user’s age, gender, smoking habits, travel history and past conditions.
“The AI-powered Apollo Hospitals bot enables users to conduct a self-assessment of potential symptoms and risk level for Covid-19. Built on Azure, it has been developed on the basis of guidelines from the WHO and the MoHFW, Government of India. It is available in 4 Indian languages,” Microsoft said.
It provides a hub for telemedicine support from “reputed healthcare organizations.” Users can opt for online consultation with healthcare service providers in India like Apollo Hospitals, Practo, 1mg, and Mfine. Credible telemedicine providers can join the hub by applying online and undergoing an assessment process.
The tracker now allows users to track novel coronavirus (Covid-19) infections across the globe and in India at a “hyperlocal level. “
“Users can get statistics on infection, recoveries and fatalities in their own states and districts. They can also save locations of their near and dear ones to quickly view stats of those areas at one place,” Microsoft said in an official statement.
The Tracker provides information on helpline numbers and testing centres. It lists guidance and advisories from credible sources, including those from the Government of India, ICMR and WHO. Users can also access news articles from national and regional language media houses on the tracker.
The features are available on the Bing Covid-19 tracker that was launched in March and can be accessed through the link https://www.bing.com/covid as well as on Bing.com.