An Interactive Infographic

The graphic I looked at is from the news story titled Coronavirus in the U.S: Latest Map and Case Count by the New York Times.

The main graphic I want to focus on is the interactive map. The map shows the known locations of coronavirus cases within each county. There are then circles that are sized by the people who have been tested positive in said county. The map is updated frequently to keep up with the incoming coronavirus cases and has an interactive feature that allows you to zoom into specific areas around the US, as well as scrub over states to see specific stats. 

This graphic explains the subject matter effectively because it allows the audience to visually see which areas are impacted by the virus more than others, showing that the virus is a national issue. The graphic is a dot distribution map because it uses the size of the dots to quantitatively show the data.  The audience for his graphic are US residents that want to know where the virus is impacting the most people. By showing the number of viruses is the size of the bubble, it allows the viewer to quickly see which regions are more affected than others. Additionally, by being able to scrub across several countries/regions, the viewer is able to see the number of cases and deaths easily. 

Because confirmed cases are widely considered to be an undercount of the true toll, some state and local governments have recently started identifying probable cases and deaths using criteria that were developed by states and the federal government.

Additionally, text was provided that discussed the changes that specific states are making in the upcoming weeks. The New York Times discusses how some shops are beginning to open, but adjacently there are virus spikes within the midwest. They are able to convey the complicated and multi-level story that has taken place in the US. I think that the map provides a real look at what the states are facing. It shows the audience a quick and effective glance at the real numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Further down the page, the article breaks down which states are increasing, decreasing or staying the same in Covid-19 cases. I would have combined this section with the map. This would allow the viewer to click on a whole state (not just zooming into certain counties) and be able to see graphical evidence about the specific state’s timeline and projections.  

More than 1,207,500 people in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 70,900 have died, according to a New York Times database. More than 1,000 additional deaths have been announced every day since April 2.

Featured image labeled for noncommercial reuse by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coronaviruses_004_lores.jpg