👋 covid19bharat.org is shutting operations
From March 2020 to October 2021, covid19india.org collated and shared India’s covid data at a vital period in the pandemic. When the team decided to stop work in October 2021, a team led by DataKind Bengaluru took the baton from them in the form of covid19bharat.org. This team will now close operations at the end of January 2023.
We are doing this for three reasons.
First, many states have stopped publishing district data bulletins, and more are expected to in the coming months. What this means is that state-wise data for all states is available the next morning from the union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (even if district-wise data is not available).
Second, covid numbers have been consistently low for the last one year, and vaccination coverage is high.
Third, we have seen steadily declining interest in the site in terms of views and data downloads — and we understand why!
So, thank you.
First, to all the covid19india.org volunteers who designed and built the platform through some of the most difficult and vital times, and then handheld us through the transition. Then to the covid19bharat.org volunteers who we have grown very close to, and who have always stepped in for each other like a true community. Without the continued support of DataKind and Development Data Labs, the platform couldn’t have been kept alive. From unreliable data sources, unreadable text and data formats to prompt and structured data, the team has helped in various operational as well as technical support.
DataKind is dedicated towards initiatives to advance efforts in the field of technology that impacts humans. The technology and the source code could assist future initiatives in building similar public data platforms. The covid19indiabharat.org website will remain up and the source code along with the historical data will remain freely available.
Thank you for sharing this journey with us.
