Flood of coronavirus data overwhelms state reporting system
By Lewis Kamb / The Seattle Times
SEATTLE — Even as the novel coronavirus has spread from Washington’s cities to small towns and rural communities, state Department of Health officials acknowledged Tuesday they’re wrestling with another thorny problem from the pandemic: A flood of statewide case data is overwhelming the disease-reporting system.
As a result, statewide public reporting of new coronavirus cases has ground to a halt. As of Wednesday, Washington’s last data update posted to the Department of Health website came from lab results reported three days earlier — as of midnight March 28.
The lag, in turn, has partially blinded both health officials and the public to the latest information about the disease’s spread statewide.
Washington state Secretary of Health John Wiesman acknowledged that timely and accurate information is critical in formulating public health strategies, but he tempered concerns about the data problems, and said they’ve had no adverse impacts to the state’s response — yet.
https://www.heraldnet.com/northwest/flood-of-coronavirus-data-overwhelms-state-reporting-system/
