COVID-19: Important lessons in Data Management and Data Science
What Data Management lessons can we learn from the way in which information is being reported about the Covid-19 pandemic? This post provides some observations and links them to good data management practices. Please read my Disclaimer by clicking here. The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down. As the grim reality of this terrible disease started to become apparent, the media jumped into action and started reporting “the numbers”: numbers of cases, numbers of deaths, numbers recovered, numbers of PPE equipment delivered, numbers of care homes affected… the list goes on. Along with these numbers came the comparisons. Comparisons between countries, between states and regions, between demographic groups and so on. The increases in deaths were terrifying and the comparisons with other countries did nothing but add to the fear, especially when it started to look like the country “we’re” living in is experiencing more deaths, or when you realise th...