Reporting is becoming more sophisticated. The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCCD) went from this landing page on the 13 of April, 3 days ago with data, maps, and charts as images on the page.

To this page today 16 of April and data are now reported in an ESRI dashboard, and some data available for download! I think it is easier to read. I hope they will continue to report their excellent Surveillance Reports, here is an example from April 15, 2020. You can access those reports at the bottom of the landing page. What is great about the dashboard is that it is a collaboration between a number of Provincial Agencies BCCDC, PHSA, B.C. Ministry of Health and GeoBC Production. Below the image I have also pasted what they include on their Terms of Use, Disclaimer and Limitations of Liability page from the Dashboard.  The one issue with the dashboard, is you cannot download or link to specific pages.

Below I copied and pasted the information directly from the Dashboard at 9:45 AM EST, 16 April 2020. It is useful to have this all in one place, including access to data, data sources and notes about the indicators. This comes from the Dashboard, and unfortunately I cannot hyperlink directly to this information.

Terms of use, disclaimer and limitations of liability

Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the Province of British Columbia, including the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the Provincial Health Services Authority and the British Columbia Ministry of Health makes no representation or warranties regarding the accuracy of the information in the dashboard and the associated data, nor will it accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Data may not reflect the current situation, and therefore should only be used for reference purposes. Access to and/or content of this dashboard and associated data may be suspended, discontinued, or altered, in part or in whole, at any time, for any reason, with or without prior notice, at the discretion of the Province of British Columbia.

Anyone using this information does so at his or her own risk, and by using such information agrees to indemnify the Province of British Columbia, including the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the Provincial Health Services Authority and the British Columbia Ministry of Health and its content providers from any and all liability, loss, injury, damages, costs and expenses (including legal fees and expenses) arising from such person’s use of the information on this website.

BCCDC/PHSA/B.C. Ministry of Health data sources are available at the links below:

• Case Data (spatial)
• Case Details
• Laboratory Testing Information

Dashboard Usage Tips:

• Hover over charts to see additional information.
• Click the top right corner of any chart/window to make it full screen. Click again to return to the dashboard view.

Data Sources:

• Case Details and Laboratory Information Data are updated daily Monday through Friday at 5:00 pm.
• Data on cases is collected by Health Authorities during public health follow-up.
• Confirmed cases include laboratory positive cases.
• Laboratory data is supplied by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory; tests performed for other provinces have been excluded.
• Data on intensive care unit (ICU) admissions is provided by the PHSA Critical Care Working Group.
• Test and case values may differ between amalgamated Health Authorities and B.C. as site locations are confirmed.

Data Over Time:

• The number of laboratory tests performed and positivity rate over time are reported by the date of test result. On March 16, testing recommendations changed to focus on hospitalized patients, healthcare workers, long term care facility staff and residents, and those part of a cluster or outbreak who are experiencing respiratory symptoms. The current day is excluded from all laboratory indicators.
• The number of new cases over time are reported by the date they are notified to public health.

Epidemiologic Indicators:

• Cases are considered recovered after two lab-confirmed negative swabs taken 24 hours apart or when removed from isolation 10 days after symptom onset.
• New cases are those reported daily in the PHO press briefing and reflect the difference in counts between one day and the next as of 10:00 am. This may not be equal to the number of cases reported by day, as cases reported prior to 10:00 am would have been included as New Cases in the previous day’s count. Because of the 10:00 am cut-off, the most recent day in time series graphs may contain only partial information. On Mondays, the number of new cases includes the number of new cases from Saturday and Sunday.
• ICU values include the number of COVID-19 patients in all critical care beds (e.g., intensive care units; high acuity units; and other surge critical care spaces as they become available and/or required).

Laboratory Indicators:

• Total tests represent the cumulative number of COVID-19 tests since testing began mid-January. Only tests for residents of B.C. are included.
• New tests represent the number of COVID-19 tests performed in the 24 hour period prior to date of the dashboard update.
• COVID-19 positivity rate is calculated as the number of positive specimens that day/total number of specimens tested (positive, negative, and indeterminate) that day.
• Turn-around time is calculated as the daily average time (in hours) between specimen collection and report of a test result. Turn-around time includes the time to ship specimens to the lab; patients who live farther away are expected to have slightly longer average turn around times.
• The rate of COVID-19 testing is defined as the cumulative number of people tested for COVID-19/BC population x 1,000,000 population. B.C. and Canadian rates are obtained from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Daily Epidemiologic update site.

Health Authority Assignment:

• Health Authority is assigned by place of residence; when not available, by location of the provider ordering the lab test.

Please direct questions and feedback to the BCCDC: Admininfo@bccdc.ca