This Interactive Map Displays The Latest Confirmed Coronavirus Cases

If you're finding it hard to wrap your head around the numbers involved in the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), this interactive map can give you an idea based on the latest World Health Organisation numbers.

There's a lot of information (and sadly quite a lot of misinformation) surrounding the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), AKA the "Wuhan Coronavirus" as we learn more about it.

It can make getting an accurate picture of what the real risk quite hard to assess. As Phandroid reports the team at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering has built up an an interactive web map showing the latest credible data for the spread of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) worldwide.

You can access the interactive map here.

It's best viewed on a desktop browser; trying to squish it onto a smaller mobile screen works, but makes the data harder to read.

It's certainly solid data visualisation at play, but it's also got the potential to be somewhat alarming, so it's well worth using that data as a springboard to further understanding our evolving picture of the virus.

We've already managed to recreate it in Australian labs, so there's improved scope for the development of a vaccine. While the World Health Organisation has declared it a public health emergency of international concern that's largely a logistical step on the way to providing complete management of the virus. As an example, within its most recent meeting notes, while it notes that it's of international concern, "The Committee does not recommend any travel or trade restriction based on the current information available."

Or in other words, it's fine to be alert, but being alarmed without having as complete a picture as possible isn't wise.

We've pulled together a simple guide to what Australians need to know about the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) here.

[John Hopkins via Phandroid]