Use of Data Visualization to Defeat COVID-19

In the early days and weeks of any global health concern, particularly in a fast-moving outbreak such as  the coronavirus, many unknowns exist. However, data visualization unblurs those unknowns as comprehending trends and combining data points unveil a story filled with insight. The ability to visualize the spread of the coronavirus can help raise awareness, understand its impact, and ultimately, assist in prevention efforts.

In addition to speeding up the virus vaccine research and strengthening personnel mobility management, the timely collection, transmission, and management of personnel information has also become a vital part of the battle against the coronavirus. There are huge challenges in all aspects of society such as resumption of economic and educational activities, hospital treatment, and community management.

Scientists utilized the knowledge of data visualization to design dashboards. It allows organizations to effectively monitor the pandemic situation and carry out prevention strategies. It mitigates risk by providing insight into the past, current, and expected future trends.

Our aim with this article is to provide you with a list of tools best suited for such needs and the type of dashboards you can create with them along with some sample dashboards.

 

 

MongoDB CHARTS:

Worldwide Coronavirus Outbreak Statistic | Source:  https://charts.mongodb.com/charts-coronavirus-dashboard-yamfx/public/dashboards/4b328ffa-ba5d-435e-af11-b39fc974e47a

 

Esri:

Johns Hopkins University Dashboard: The live dashboard pulls data from the WHO (World Health Organization) as well as the centers for disease control in the United States of America, China, and Europe to depict all confirmed and suspected cases of coronavirus along with the number of recovered patients and deaths. The data is visualized through a real-time graphic information system (GIS) powered by Esri.

 

FineReport:

Prevention and Control Situation Analysis Dashboard: Comprehensively analyze the prevention and control work of the hospitals experiencing the coronavirus outbreak from the dimensions of confirmed cases distribution, epidemic trend, and risk monitoring.

Community Access Analysis Dashboard: The residents of a community encounter potential risks when individuals enter and leave the community. Specifically, community epidemic prevention and control creates a direct impact on those who are most vulnerable such as the elderly population.

 

 

TABLEAU:

Source: https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/coronavirus-in-oc

 

Some other publicly available coronavirus dashboards: https://public.tableau.com/search/vizzes/corona

 

Another notable dashboard is from Information is Beautiful which provides a detailed glance at how the virus unfolded over the months. It uses features such as extensive widgets for infection trajectories and country-wide fatality rates. You can access the same at https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/covid-19-coronavirus-infographic-datapack/ Some screenshots of the dashboard:

 

Other noteworthy Data Vsualization Tools:

  • Candela: An open source suite of web visualization components for Kitware‘s Resonant platform. The tool enables users to make scalable, rich visualizations available with a normalized API for use in real-world data science applications.
  • Chart Studio: An editor for creating D3.js and WebGL charts. It does not require coding and uses a drag-and-drop interface for connecting to SQL. You can securely share online in a fashion similar to Google Docs. Charts can also be embedded in company wikis, reports, or dashboards.
  • Charted: A free tool for automatically visualizing data, and it was created by the Product Science Team at blogging platform Medium. The tool re-fetches data every 30 minutes to ensure that the visualized chart is always up-to-date. Charted currently supports CSV and TSV files, as well as Google Spreadsheets with shareable links and Dropbox share links for supported files.
  • Chartist: An open source charting library that enables you to create highly customizable and responsive charts. The tool provides simple handling while using convention over configuration, as well as flexibility while using clear separation of concerns.
  • d3.js: An open source JavaScript library for creating interactive data visualizations in web browsers. The tool uses HTML, SVG and CSS with an emphasis on web standards to provide you with all the capabilities of modern browsers without linking you to a proprietary framework.
  • Datawrapper: Provides a web tool for creating a variety of interactive charts and maps. No code or design skills are required, and charts can be embedded in your website. Users can simply copy data from Excel or Google Sheets, upload CSV files, or link a URL for live-updating.
  • dygraphs: A flexible open source JavaScript library that allows users to explore and interpret dense data sets. Charts are interactive, allowing users to mouse over to highlight individual values. dygraphs can handle huge data sets and features strong support for error bars and confidence intervals.
  • Google Charts: A simple and free web service that allows for the creation of charts from user-supplied information. You can choose a variety of charts from scatter plots to hierarchical tree maps. Users can then configure them via an extensive set of options, as well as connect charts and controls into an interactive dashboard.
  • Google Data Studio: A dashboard and reporting tool that is free to Google account users and Google Cloud Platform customers. Users can choose from a broad array of charts, graphs, pivot tales, and visualizations such as time series, bar charts, pie charts, tables, heat maps and geo maps.
  • Highcharts: An SVG-based, multi-platform charting library that has been actively developed since 2009. It allows users to create interactive and mobile-optimized charts to your web and mobile projects. Data can be given in any form, including CSV, JSON, or loaded and updated live.
  • Leaflet: A JavaScript library for creating interactive mobile maps. It only weighs 38 KB of JS. It has all the mapping features most developers ever need. Leaflet works across all major desktop and mobile platforms and can be extended with a variety of plugins.
  • myHeatmap: It offers a free service that allows you to create color-coded heat maps. The free version features unlimited public maps (but no private maps) and 20 data points.
  • OpenHeatMap: A basic, free tool that allows you to convert spreadsheets into a map. Users can simply upload an Excel, CSV file, or Google Doc and the service produces a visual. The tool also allows users to share their map with others with a title, hyperlink and other basic inputs.
  • Palladio: A web-based platform for visualizing complex and multi-dimensional data. It is a product of the Networks in History from Stanford University. Once you create a new project, your data can be viewed in a number of different views.
  • Polymaps: An open source JavaScript library for making interactive maps in modern web browsers. It provides speedy display of multi-zoom datasets. Because Polymaps uses SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) to display information, you can use familiar, comfortable CSS rules to define the design of your data.
  • RAW Graphs: An open source data visualization framework designed to provide the missing link between spreadsheet applications and vector graphics editors.
  • TimelineJS: An open source tool that enables you to build interactive visual timelines. It works on any site or blog plus beginners can get started using nothing more than a Google spreadsheet.
  • WebDataRocks: A free reporting tool for data analysis and visualization with simple integration and analysis of complex data. It is written in JavaScript and displays your CSV or JSON data in an interactive pivot table.