Sample of how GIS map making can help track pandemics.

Introduction 

In 2020, COVID came to Wisconsin.  It was very quickly realized that COVID spread was spreading across Wisconsin. A map was one of the best ways of showing where COVID was spreading.  

Methods

This map was created in ArcGIS Pro with county shapes shapefile from the Wisconsin DNR (1). The way the COVID level was decided was by random generation since access to real COVID spread data was not available at publishing time.  

Results 

 Figure 1 shows an example of a possible COVID map. This map does not have county name labels for simplicity reasons. 

Figure 1

Figure 2:This map shows the same data. But this one has county name labels to help citizens find their county. 

Figure 2 

Discussion 

    While these maps' data was not taken from the health department, it shows that with the health department data how maps can show where COVID is spreading. Instead of trying to imagine where COVID is spreading, maps can show exactly where COVID is spreading. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  

References

1. Wisconsin DNR County Shapefile