Coronavirus: Microsoft launches Bing COVID-19 tracker and it's truly terrifying
Tech giant, Microsoft has launched an interactive map that tracks the global spread of the coronavirus pandemic through its search engine, Bing. The coronavirus tracker offers real-time updates on the spread of COVID-19 and fishes data from legitimate sources.
The tool is free to use and compiles information from these sources to display accurate figures for the total number of confirmed cases, fatalities, and the number of people recovered. The data procured shows global figures and those of each country.
The tracker, a desktop and mobile application is a map that users can navigate to find localized data. When a city or country is selected, the application will display the most relevant details, up-to-date figures and news articles from government and reliable sources, curated by Bing.
A spokesperson from Microsoft said to MailOnline, "To provide people quick and easy ways to find the information they need during this time, we are aggregating data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), among other authoritative sources, into accessible experiences across MSN and Bing."
The number of cases has increased exponentially and according to Bing's tracker(while this article was written), the total confirmed cases are 182,422, with 7, 146 fatalities, as of March 16. Europe has now become the epicenter of the outbreak, with Italy having the highest fatalities within a 24-hour time-frame. China, where the outbreak stemmed from, is still at the top of the COVID-19 chart with the highest number of cases in a country.
Second in line is Italy, followed by Iran, Spain, South Korea, Germany, France, the US, Switzerland, and the UK. The outbreak has been termed a 'pandemic' by the World Health Organization and affected countries have called for a national lockdown amid the growing concerns. Events that call for a mass gathering, schools, recreational centers, and offices have shut down and hospitals are overflowing with patients. Governments have advised social distancing and self-isolation as a preventive measure.
The US has declared a national emergency and also imposed a travel ban to curb the spread of the disease. Schools, bars, and restaurants have shut down, and people have been asked to work from home.