Visualizing the Evolution of COVID-19 Cases in the US
Flattening the curve. A visual metaphor that has been used to describe the reason for social distancing, staying home, and all of the other actions we are doing to minimize loss of lives. By flattening the curve, we’ve seen an infographic that depicts two curves with the horizontal line for medical capacity. A successful use of an infographic that led us at Pitch to question what the “real” curves look like as every state across the US imposes their own standards. So we created Ebb & Flow: COVID-19 Daily Cases Across the US.
The curves themselves are measurements of daily confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19. The idea being that, over time, the number of cases would increase, plateau and then steadily decrease. The actual numbers tell a more accurate story of what these curves look like.
Since early March, as data about COVID-19 cases became more widely available, we have been busy. Engulfing ourselves in this data has felt like swimming in a Petri dish that is constantly changing around us. One dataset in particular that stood out to us is offered by the New York Times. A trusted source that is sourced from state and local health agencies, updated daily, widely used and free to use.
We created a visualization using the streamgraph methodology to show the ebb and flow of the daily data made available. The idea being that you can see the nation as a whole but also have the ability to single out individual states or compare different states while also offering specific daily count data.
You can pick a date and see how states ranked in that state (right side panel). The colors of the blocks on the right side are set by their rank on the most current date of the data so, as you change dates, you can have a sense of how much a state’s rank has changed from the selected date to the final date. When you roll over a stream, you can see more specific stats to give clearer insights into the data on that date.
The best part about this visual is that it breaths new insights each day as the dataset is updated so we can examine and explore how these curves change and update over time. As we develop new features, we will be highlighting important points in time such as policies enacted for each state, statements made by our leadership and also be able to compare states by political positions and examine just how effective or ineffective certain states have been in dealing with and mitigating this pandemic. View Ebb & Flow to explore how the pandemic has moved through the US over time.
