In an effort to emphasize and accelerate the progress we’re making against the Coronavirus in the United States, I built this tool to bring quick and clear understanding to how the conditions in each state compare. Just as we’ve learned from the successes of other countries, we can learn from the successes of other states.

Settings

When you share a link to this chart, whatever configuration you have created will come through on the other end for your followers. Here are explanations for how various settings manipulate the data.

Show only daily totals

Looking at the running totals on the graph can make it difficult to suss out the trends until they are well established. But looking at only the daily increases in the graph can show shifting trends with greater granularity.

Smooth curve with moving average

Because day to day data can be so volatile, seeing overall trends, especially in the daily total data can be challenging. Turning this on smooths out the bumps using a 9 day moving average so general trends in the data can be more quickly spotted.

Adjusted per 1M residents

Total cases in each state can be deceiving in comparison because states vary widely in population size. This setting allows you to adjust each state’s metrics per one million residents.

Starting at patient zero

The presumed trajectory of a state may be warped by the delay of the arrival of the disease in some states. This aligns the states from the day the first case was detected there to better show the differences in its acceleration state by state.

Underlay all states

With this setting, you can underlay all other states in gray for a better sense for how your chosen states compare.

The Data

Some things to consider while interpreting the data. COVID-19 has an incubation period of up to two weeks, so policy efforts in each state to stem the spread may not be visible in the data for about that long. As testing capacity increases, sharp jumps in numbers of cases should be expected. And this chart updates each evening after the day’s totals are pulled in. Check back each day for the latest numbers.

Purpose

In these squiggly lines, I hope you’ll also find a compelling story. From the communities banding together to protect the vulnerable among them in each half degree of flatness, to the heroism of the experts and caretakers responsible for keeping so many off the graph, and the heartbreak and tragedy of every notch in the death toll.

Additionally, I’d like for this tool to provide opportunities for states to learn from one another. Below, you’ll find learning resources that detail the actions of different states to combat Coronavirus. If you know of a resource that would be broadly useful, tweet it to me: @andybgriffin

Resources

NCSL — Running record of states’ legislation related to COVID-19

University of Washington — Projections for states’ hospital capacity

Utah Leads Together — Utah’s plan of action booklet

Google Mobility Reports — Communities are moving differently