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- Covid-19 data is hard to keep track of and hard to find, unless you know where to search.
- With its dashboard, News24 aims to provide readers with all the insight they need to understand the spread of the coronavirus, in one place.
- The dashboard will be expanded and as more data becomes available, readers will be able to access the most important Covid-19 data for their sub-district.
Data has become one of the most important tools the public can use to stay abreast of the spread of Covid-19. But the limited data published by the health department is hard to find and often difficult to understand.
Aiming to address this key gap in the public's knowledge, News24 has launched its Covid-19 dashboard, which will provide readers with key insights into the pandemic.
It also includes data at a provincial level that is easy to understand and navigate on mobile and desktop.
VISIT | News24 Covid-19 dashboard
But this is just an initial launch.
The dashboard will soon be expanded to include sub-district level data for Gauteng and the Western Cape, as well as other key information, including more detailed graphs and new ones on excess deaths.
The project is aimed at cutting through the noise around Covid-19 statistics to show data in a way that readers will be able to quickly and easily check the latest trends while on the move, or for a deeper look if they have time.
Looking forward
A Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request News24 filed in July recently pushed the health department to publish 45 scientific advisories authored by the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19.
The publication of the advisories is seen as a major victory for transparency and accountability around the management of the coronavirus.
News24 also filed a PAIA application for access to more detailed data that is currently being kept secret by the department, but this application was refused.
An internal appeal was filed on 19 August.
The News24 Covid-19 dashboard was built specifically with the eventual release of this data in mind, which will give our audience and the public at large an unprecedented view into the pandemic.
The dashboard project was supported by the Truth First Foundation, an NPO aimed at supporting investigative journalism.
