Ohio Launches Online Coronavirus Tracking Map

OHIO — Ohioans have a new way to track the spread of the coronavirus as the outbreak makes its way through the state.

The Ohio Department of Health has unveiled a new dashboard that allows users to see the number of cases in each county, growth trends, deaths, hospitalizations and more. The dashboard also uses data from Ohio State University to try and forecast when the virus will peak and how it will be affected by social distancing. Currently it predicts a peak on Wednesday, May 22, though that prediction will change as updates come in.

The new dashboard can be found here, and will update daily at around 2 p.m. when the state releases new data. Gov. Mike DeWine says this is both the broadest and most granular data ever made available on infectious diseases in the state, and it should be helpful for residents who want to perform their own analysis of the virus' spread.

The governor says he believes the data made available through the dashboard balances the patient's right to medical privacy with the public's need to know how the outbreak is changing day by day.

The program is still being expanded. Organizers say they hope to include more information about outbreaks nursing homes and living assisted facilities by some time next week. The dashboard will also be updated to include case information for patients who are in direct care providers at hospitals.