Readers are hungry for coronavirus data; Register is pressing for its release, devising new ways to present it

Soon after the Register staff posted our daily update Friday on the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths in Iowa, a frustrated reader emailed me:

“I’m disappointed you have not yet reported the number of new cases. Today’s article simply says ‘nearly 400.’ … In an emergency the public needs the facts. If the politicians won’t give them out, we rely on journalists to dig out and present the facts.”

Believe me, we have no intention of walking away from our commitment to provide every scrap of credible data that sheds light on the spread of the coronavirus, test availability and results, and the efficacy of mitigation efforts.

It turns out that there was a math discrepancy in the numbers the state had reported that morning. The number of total cases in Iowa to date that it reported was five fewer than the number of new cases added to the previous day’s total. Math errors happen. Our staff decided, correctly I believe, to report the “nearly 400” estimate until the discrepancy could be resolved.

Regardless, the reader’s email illustrates the public’s intense interest in coronavirus data. That’s reflected in the high pageviews our digital updates receive each day and in the emails I get from print readers. It’s why we’re publishing a separate box in each day’s edition updating the numbers.

Another reader wrote to praise the state’s updated coronavirus website for providing some additional data but criticized it for dropping or downgrading the prominence of what he considers key metrics. Yet another person wrote the Reader’s Watchdog, Lee Rood, to ask why Iowa was providing only county-level data, rather than ZIP-code level as some states are doing. Tighter geography would help families decide which activities are safe to resume, he reasoned.

Given the high interest in coronavirus data, I wanted to call your attention to some of the exclusive data visualizations the Register provides on its website. One file, updated daily, contains several maps and charts tracking the spread of the virus. For example, a state map shows every county, cases per 1,000 people and deaths. And an interactive calendar shows the number of new cases reported each day since March 8, when COVID-19 was first detected in Iowa. 

On May 8, our data visualization specialist, Tim Webber, unveiled a new interactive graphic with fever charts showing the virus’s spread in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. You simply type in the name of the county, and you can compare the growth lines for up to five counties at a time. (Print readers: You can find both files easily by going to desmoinesregister.com and searching for "coronavirus maps.")

Readers have implored the Register to keep pressing the state for the full release of data as well as information about the models officials are using to interpret the data and make decisions on the state’s response. We pledge to do just that.

Iowans deserve full information to make the best decisions possible about their families' safety and to judge whether their elected officials are making well-reasoned, science-based decisions on their behalf. 

Virtual town hall on COVID-19 and the black community

One set of data that’s been particularly concerning is the higher rate of the coronavirus’ spread in Iowa’s communities of color, reflecting a pattern seen across the country.

The rate of positive tests among black and Asian Iowans is more than three times their respective portion of the population, and for Latinos, it’s nearly four times.

From 1-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, The Directors Council’s One Economy initiative will present a COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall to explore the health and economic impacts of the pandemic on black residents of Polk County.

“From health to employment, housing to education, the threat this pandemic poses to widen the racial wealth divide is real,” Teree Caldwell-Johnson, CEO of Oakridge Neighborhood and chair of the Directors Council, told the Register. 

The Register and the Greater Des Moines Partnership are joining in presenting the event.

I encourage business, nonprofit and other community leaders to participate in this important discussion. Go to www.dsmpartnership.com/events to register for the Zoom meeting.

Carol Hunter is the Register’s executive editor. She wants to hear your questions, story ideas or concerns at 515-284-8545, chunter@registermedia.com, or on Twitter @carolhunter.