Chinese citizens turn to virus tracker apps to avoid infected neighbourhoods

People wearing masks to protect themselves against the new coronavirus epidemic at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday (Feb 3). - Reuters

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - Chinese citizens are using mapping programmes and travel trackers in a bid to avoid neighbourhoods with infections of the coronavirus and to better prepare for the dangers they face.

Both data mapping company QuantUrban and a third-party Wechat mini-program developer have created platforms that take official information on the neighbourhoods where confirmed cases live and map it geographically so that users can gauge how close they are to infection sites.