What follows are the statistics and visualizations regarding COVID-19 that I find informative, important, or were just interesting to me to create as I learn more about data visualization. There are plenty of other analyses available, and analyses that come from disease experts, which I am not, so I encourage you to read and look at those as well!
The analyses use data last updated on 8/16/2020.
For a summary of format changes since the last update see the footnote at the bottom of the post.
Global Analyses
Recent Milestones & Statistics of Note
The number of confirmed cases around the world is nearly 22 million. After peaking at 260 thousand on July 31st, the 7-day average of daily cases increased again and peaked at 261 thousand on August 14th. The 7-day average of daily deaths reached a second peak of 5871 on August 13th. The number of active cases worldwide may have peaked on August 15th at a bit more than 6.5 million active cases. See https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/ for visualizations of this data.
Global Total Cases
Currently the nation with the fewest per capita confirmed cases is Laos at 1 in every 331,302 individuals.
The nation with the most per capita confirmed cases is Qatar at 1 in every 24 individuals.
The global prevalence is 1 in every 354 individuals with a confirmed case of COVID-19, an increase from 1 in 544 on 7/17/2020.
Global Deaths
There are 24 nations that have not reported a COVID-19 fatality.
Currently the nation with the fewest per capita deaths is Burundi at 1 in every 11,931,934 individuals.
The nation with the most per capita deaths is San Marino at 1 in every 808 individuals.
Globally 1 in every 10,016 individuals have died from COVID-19, an increase from 1 in 12,908 on 7/17/2020.
1 in every 28 individuals who have contracted COVID-19 have died, a death rate of 3.53%, a decrease from 4.22% on 7/17/2020.
If the current death rate in each nation remains the same, based on the number of currently active cases, i.e. without additional infections, the current global death toll of 775,510 would be expected to increase to 890,854.
For visualizations of the trend in global COVID-19 deaths, the relative proportion of deaths by region, and trends and national and state trends see the Financial Times COVID-19 Tracker: Financial Times COVID-19 Tracker link
Global Active Cases
Currently their are 13 nations without any active cases of COVID-19, a decrease from 15 on 7/17/2020. The most populous nation without any active cases is Macao.
The nation with the most per capita active cases is Aruba at 1 in every 118 individuals.
The global prevalence is 1 in every 1,302 individuals with an active case of COVID-19, an increase from 1 in 1,648 on 7/17/2020.
United States of America Analyses
Recent Milestones & Statistics of Note
In the USA, the number of confirmed cases in the USA recently passed 5.6 million and the total number of deaths is likely two days away from passing 175 thousand. The second peak of 7-day average daily cases occurred on July 25th at 69k cases, and the second peak of 7-day average number of deaths occurred on August 2nd at 1,130 cases. The number of active cases has not peaked and currently there are 2.47 million active cases.
National Status
In the USA 1 in every 59 people has had a confirmed case of COVID-19 , 1 in every 133 has an active case , and 1 in every 1,910 individuals have died. Thesea are changes from 1 in 87, 1 in 174, and 1 in 2,325 respectively on 7/17/2020. The USA in ranked in position 8 for per capita cases, position 2 for per capita active cases, and position 10 for per capita deaths. These are changes from 11th, 2nd, and 10th respectively on 7/17/2020.
USA Total Cases
Currently the state with the fewest per capita confirmed cases is Vermont at 1 in every 409 individuals.
The state with the most per capita confirmed cases is Louisiana at 1 in every 34.
COVID-19 Prevalence (1 in every individuals) by state
USA Deaths
Currently the state with the fewest per capita deaths is Hawaii at 1 in every 35,397 individuals.
The state with the most per capita deaths is New Jersey at 1 in every 555 individuals.
In the USA 1 in every 32 individuals who have contracted COVID-19 have died, a death rate of 3.11% (3.77% on 7/17/2020). If the current death rate remains the same, then based on the number of currently active cases, i.e. without additional infections, the current national death toll of 173,469 would be expected to increase to 250,476.
USA Active Cases
Currently the state with the fewest per capita active cases is Vermont at 1 in every 4,952 individuals, a change from Hawaii at 1 in 4,467 on 7/17/2020.
The state with the most per capita active cases is Florida at 1 in every 42 individuals (1 in 60 on 7/17/2020).
Regional Analyses
The following animations display the progression of COVID-19 in New England at the county level.
Cases
Total Cases
7-Day Running Average of New Cases
New Cases Over the Past 2 Weeks
Deaths
Total Deaths
7-Day Running Average of New Deaths
New Deaths Over the Past 2 Weeks
Local Exposure Risk
There are also a number of resources available that are tracking how well COVID-19 is being controlled and the current status at a more local level. Two examples are CovidActNow and The Path to Zero. I check Covid Act Now like I check the weather. Red is kind of like going out into a class 5 hurricane, Orange a tropical storm, Yellow a thunderstorm, and Green some rain. Regardless probably good to have your umbrella.
Status of Cases in the North versus the South
One question I’ve become curious about is the status of cases in the North versus the South. I defined states in the north as those with major population centers north of D.C. and Kansas City, and those with population centers south of those cities as southern states.
Whether a state is categorized as northern or southern is undoubtedly a very poor proxy for the percentage of time people spend indoors, and the measures taken to reduce COVID-19 spread. We do see differences between the regions, and the difference has grown over the course of the summer.
| Region | Active | Cases | Deaths | Active (1 in every) | Cases (1 in every) | Deaths (1 in every) | Percent Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | 535,807 | 2,091,295 | 107,143 | 320 | 82 | 2,043 | 25.62 |
| South | 1,880,248 | 3,347,408 | 62,792 | 98 | 55 | 2,721 | 56.17 |
Footnote
I’ve added some new visualizations. I hope you find these new animations informative. I think they present the trend and status of the pandemic well. Apologizes for the poor image quality of the animations. If you have visualization ideas or analyses you’d like to see let me know.
To reduce production time and to better direct web traffic to visualization sources I’m no longer clipping images from most other pages. I’ve included links to those pages throughout if you still want to go see those visualizations.
Sources
Global, National and State Data
Worldometer
This is my go to site for the raw data on current COVID-19 status at the global and state level
Our World in Data
I don’t go here as often, but this site has the most in depth analysis and includes interactive and visualizations you can customize
Financial Times Global Deaths Tracking & Financial Times Trends
Good visualization for trends through time and comparing regions, nations, and states
New Hampshire Data
NHPR COVID-19 data tracking My go to site for NH data
Risk Status
CovidActNow and The Path to Zero
