Open Geospatial Data for Responding to the COVID-19 Challenge

Abstract

The period after the appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has seen a flourishing of dynamic online maps and dashboards useful for communicating the spread of the disease, but not for the in-depth study of the phenomenon. The speed at which the disease is disseminated calls for rapid analysis and action. Data that is readily available, such as open data, or rapidly collected, e.g. by citizens, can make a significant contribution to modelling, understanding and containing the spread of a disease. This chapter explores open geospatial data responding to the COVID-19 challenge: What data is useful for studying the spatio-temporal spread ofthe virus? What is the availability ofsuch open data? The chapter wants to answer these questions critically, also providing useful information to all those who want to support research, not only linked to this zoonosis, but more generally future epidemics and pandemics for which we should be better prepared.