Mapping Delta in Real Time

A newly developed interactive tool maps Covid-19 Delta variant locations of interest as they are released, easily identifying specific sites and public transport where exposure of the virus may have occurred.

Professional services company, Abley, has applied its technical expertise and leading geospatial technology to a tool that identifies Covid-19 locations of interest on an interactive online map, which is free and readily available for anyone to use.

This online mapping tool - locations.abley.com – sources its data from the Ministry of Health, which is releasing information regarding places of interest as they are confirmed. This tool then translates the data visually, accurately recording these sites on a map of New Zealand which visitors to the site can easily comprehend. Making the tool even more effective to check risk of exposure, users can filter sites of interest against dates and times, meaning that a user can clearly see if they have been in the vicinity of a place of interest at the time exposure was possible. In addition to locations, the tool also identifies the various buses, trains, and flights that have been confirmed of interest.

The Ministry of Health publishes locations of interest on the Ministry’s website progressively, as each exposure site is confirmed. These are published in a tabulated format, which is steadily growing, with the full extent of information available to the public becoming increasingly complex to comprehend.

"When reading a long list of data, it is easy to skip past something or miss out a line or two. With the visual map it is very clear where exactly these locations of interest are, and the filter allows people to see the data that is specifically relevant to them," says Steve Abley, Abley Chief Executive.

“This online tool is an alternative way of getting this important information to the right people at the right time. It’d be great to think that New Zealander’s have been vigilant with the use of the COVID tracer app, but – for those who haven’t been scanning – this tool may make it easy to determine if you’re at risk of exposure and needing to isolate and get tested.”

Abley’s ‘Covid-19 Locations of Interest Interactive Map’ has been viewed more than 50,000 times since its launch, on Friday 20 August 2021. It is available for use at https://locations.abley.com

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