In the early days of Canada’s COVID-19 outbreak, Elisa Baniassad was able to trace how new cases were spreading and plan her outings accordingly.
“When I plotted how the virus was being transmitted, I saw that it was from close contact. People weren’t getting it out on the street, they were getting it at home from their family members,” said the computer science instructor at the University of British Columbia.
Baniassad is one of a handful of people making use of the reams of data being collected and published daily around the world to help governments and citizens plan and be informed of the latest situation.
Her diagrams are published on ViriHealth.com, a website started by someone in Toronto to keep track of the information released by the provinces.
Welcome to humanity’s first data-driven pandemic.
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Date: March 18th, 2020
Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/coronavirus-date-information-sharing-1.5500709
Discussion
- The article suggests that “It’s calming for people to have a sense that they’re being fully informed.” Why is this?
- How can you make sure that people are “fully informed”?
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