Design
Coronavirus Outbreak Maps Rooted in History
Cartographers are mapping the coronavirus in more sophisticated ways than past epidemics. But visualizing outbreaks dates back to cholera and yellow fever.
As coronavirus cases multiply, interactive maps are helping us understand the spread of the disease—and panic about it.
One of the best examples is the dashboard built by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering with a striking red-on-black design. Using tools from mapping software company Esri, Johns Hopkins aggregates data from health officials worldwide in real time. The bigger a red bubble gets, the more cases are identified in a given geographical area. The death toll from the outbreak topped 1,000 this week, making it more deadly than the 2003 SARS epidemic.