Covid-19 Visualizations
A collection of the data visuals I keep looking at
In the midst of this weird time of uncertainty, I am taking comfort in some of the amazing graphics that journalists, designers, scientists, and analysts are creating to help us understand our ever evolving situation. These have been the most informative, for me.
The Johns Hopkins Model
I started regularly checking the Johns Hopkins GIS model back in January, before we had any idea how much the virus was going to affect all of our lives. As someone who loves data visualizations, it’s been really interesting to watch how the team behind the model has continually updated the UI of the site based on the changing circumstances of the outbreak. At first most of the dashboard was focussed on China, then it moved to comparing the rest of the world to the Chinese numbers, then it started focusing more on the U.S. as the cases here rose. They also made a decision at some point to start shrinking the radius of the circles based on recovery numbers.
The NYTimes Visual Story of the Virus
This was a beautiful visualization of a frightening topic. As you scroll down the animations seamlessly roll into each other to visually tell the story of how the virus spread around the world. It is as mesmerizing to look at as it is scary to think about.
The Washington Post Social Distance Simulations
These are such a clear, simple, and powerful visual of exactly how social distancing can affect the spread of the virus. They are randomized, so the movement of the dots, representing people, is different each time that you reload the page. This is now the Washington Post’s most viewed story on their site!
The Covid Act Now Predictive Models
I was just introduced to this site yesterday by Aitana and Eric, as Eric has done a lot of the modeling on the backend. This site is a really cool way visualize your state or county’s timeline for responding to the virus, and the possible outcomes based on different levels of restrictions.
