Page 3 - GIS for Science: GIS Response to COVID-19

As the crisis unfolded, governments at every level stepped up and began responding. Thousands of organizations, institutions, private businesses, scientists, and researchers began gathering data, attempting to organize the incredible stream of information coming from every country on the planet. As the health providers expanded medical treatment, and public agencies began mandating stay-at-home orders, quarantines, and social distancing protocols, a small army of mapmaking professionals and location-savvy data scientists began feeding data into spatial databases through the technology of geographic information systems (GIS).
Organized geographically in layers, raw data can be analyzed in context against other layers and transformed into powerful visualizations. As the outbreak grew, thousands of GIS-powered applications, dashboards, and maps tracked the spread of the virus and informed frontline efforts to fight the disease. One GIS map in particular appeared online early in the crisis. Next, you’ll learn how a small team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering created the most viral map in history.
April 2: The US Labor Department reports that 6.6 million people applied for unemployment benefits in the last week of March.
April
May 2: Russia records a one-day record for the country with 9,623 new coronavirus infections. The mayor of Moscow says 2% of the city’s population has coronavirus.
May
June 16: After a 24-day span with no infections, New Zealand records new cases.
July 1: The United States reports 55,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day, the highest single-day total in
the pandemic’s short history.
April 29: COVID-19 has killed more than 200,000 people worldwide.
May 27: Four months after the first confirmed case, the United States records more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19.
June 28: Global reported deaths exceed a half million, with total confirmed cases surpassing 10 million.
July 7: President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil discloses that he has been infected with the virus.
June
July
As cancellations of major public events like concerts, theater productions, and festivals continue into the summer, major sporting leagues around the planet grapple with the spectre of opening their seasons without fans in the seats. (Photo by BrudeW/Flickr.)
Drive-through virus testing centers increase across the United States.
As summer temperatures arrive in California, civic leaders take sometimes controversial measures to enforce social distancing.
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