Publish more data on where cases are and on transmission

We should give everyone access to the detailed data available through positive test results. We must know from positive tests who people and therefore where exactly the cases are. While data is published at health board area level it must already be available at a more detailed level. Please publish it to a level of greater detail, such as to postcode area level, or to Council ward level if there are privacy concerns at postcode level.

Why the contribution is important

We should be more open and transparent about what is happening with the spread of the infection. Making more granular data available could help reduce the risk of localised outbreaks turning into wider ones. If the data is made available, everyone will know where "hotspots" are and can choose to avoid these areas or take additional precautions. That is how places like South Korea and other countries have got on top of outbreaks. Data is available in other countries like Spain to the equivalent of Council area.

by LAM on May 08, 2020 at 11:58AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.8
Based on: 31 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Drummond28 May 08, 2020 at 14:42

    I live in a small town East Lothian but have no idea how many (if any) confirmed cases there are in my area. Giving numbers for the Lothian health authority that includes Edinburgh is meaningless

  • Posted by CMcIlroy May 08, 2020 at 15:32

    By street, use colour scale, update weekly,
    Surely this isn’t beyond our computer capacity?!

  • Posted by Graham May 08, 2020 at 16:05

    France has issued colour-coded maps based on the flexibility allowable by departement (96 in total), with the reason (spread of disease, hospital capacity, etc) clearly stated. Our data is meaningless as there is insufficient testing to allow an accurate indication.

  • Posted by mnOg6512 May 08, 2020 at 16:33

    Given that care homes seem to make up most new cases, show numbers both with and without those so that community spread is more apparent

  • Posted by Chimp May 08, 2020 at 16:53

    I believe the R number for the general population is significantly below 1, but is being inflated by care home figures where most new cases seem to be occurring. Lockdown care homes as tight as a drum, and allow the rest of us some respite from the unnecessarily draconian lockdown measures. I live in Lothian where only around 2000 cases have been reported in total from a population of almost 1 million. How many patients have been admitted to the Louisa Jordan??? Get some perspective and let us out to participate in activities where we can maintain social distancing.

  • Posted by HighlandLass May 08, 2020 at 17:15

    I dont believe it is clear each day where the deaths are - in the community/hospital/care home this is important as you can note clusters and the whole point of lockdown was not to overwhelm the NHS

  • Posted by DevVeh May 08, 2020 at 17:23

    We arent doing enough samples to have this be meaningful. Also where do you count it. If a nurse is tested positive. Should his/her home address be counted, the hospital she works at or somewhere else? Especially if they live in a very different place to where they work. Say for instance live in the borders but work in Edinburgh or Glasgow

  • Posted by LAM May 08, 2020 at 18:39

    In response to DevVeh, the Government is intent on increasing testing so figures will become more meaningful as time goes on. But in any case I suggest that we should not let perfection be the enemy of the good. One or 2 cases is not a cluster so I don't think that individual cases such as nurses would make a difference. I live in Fife. In the last 7 days, 54 people have sadly tested positive. These people may in turn pass the virus to others they live with, who may inadvertently pass it on before they knew they were positive . But where are they? Are they spread out all over Fife? Or are they clustered in a small number of places? I have just returned from collecting a prescription. My local Tesco had a massive queue outside. People were absolutely not socially distancing in the queue. But what if all 54 Fife cases in the last 7 days were in this area? Would that make people more cautious and pay more attention to social distancing? I would like to think so. I don't know how the awful outbreak in Skye, widely reported in the media, has affected people's behavior there, but I would suspect it has had an impact. If the media had not picked the outbreak up, it would only have been reported at the level of Highland and no doubt most people would assume it was in, say, Inverness. Changed behaviors have certainly been seen in other countries who publish more localised data. I absolutely accept that not everyone will care or change what they do, but surely breaking down the data hurts no-one and could actually help drive safer behaviors in at least some people?
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