Community-driven navigation platform Waze rolls out new app updates to help drivers navigate the roads amid the ongoing pandemic.
New notification—Following the implementation of general community quarantine in many parts of the country, a “Drive only if necessary” notification will now appear on the app to remind users to “Stay safe and healthy. Follow local travel guidance and only drive if you must.”
Drive-thru and curbside pickup—Users can now locate the nearest store offering drive-thru and/or curbside pickups on the app.
COVID-19 donation center—Users can search for the nearest donation drop off center by typing “Donation center drop-off” in the destination search bar. Wazers can also choose among other drop-off centers found in the search results.
Updated reference laboratories—In April, Waze added COVID-19 Reference Laboratories to its map. Waze has pinned 59 reference laboratories as of date and will continue to add more as they are made available by the Department of Health.
COVID-19 landing page—Waze’s COVID-19 Impact Dashboard is now available externally so that governments, academics, and the public can gain more insight into local driving trends. On this page, governments around the world can also contribute data on both medical testing center and emergency food distribution center locations to help improve Waze maps for users.