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- Page navigation anchor for Open access epidemiological data and an interactive dashboard to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak in CanadaOpen access epidemiological data and an interactive dashboard to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada
A recent publication in CMAJ (1) highlights the critical need for timely, accurate, and accessible epidemiological data for the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak to inform public health response efforts. In Canada, the first case was reported on January 25, 2020 in a returning traveller. As of March 27, 2020 there have been a total of 4,757 reported cases across the country.
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Individual-level case data are particularly valuable during outbreaks but are seldom made available in real-time. Interactive data visualizations are also needed to contextualize this information and provide a pan-Canadian summary. These tools engage not only the public health and research communities but also the general public whose cooperation is essential to effectuate response efforts.
We developed an individual-level dataset of Canadian COVID-19 confirmed and presumptive positive cases (https://github.com/ishaberry/Covid19Canada), including demographic characteristics, location, report date, travel history, and exposure source. Time series of mortalities, recoveries, and testing are also recorded. This dataset feeds into an interactive dashboard (https://art-bd.shinyapps.io/covid19canada/), which enables users to visualize the data and follow the outbreak. All data are openly accessible and updated daily.
Data are collated from government health authorities as well as news m...Competing Interests: None declared.References
- 1. Lin M, Beliavsky A, Katz K, Powis JE, Ng W, Williams V, Groves H, Muller MP, Vaisman A, Hota S, Johnstone J. What can early Canadian experience screening for COVID-19 teach us about how to prepare for a pandemic?. CMAJ. 2020 Mar 23;192(12):E314-8.
- 2. Public Health Agency of Canada. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update. 2020. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html (accessed March 22, 2020)
- 3. Modjarrad K, Moorthy VS, Millett P, Gsell P-S, Roth C, Kieny M-P. Developing Global Norms for Sharing Data and Results during Public Health Emergencies. PLoS Med 2016; 13.