Talk:COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts

County by county infections image

It would be helpful to users to be able to visualize county by county where cases are being reported, similar to the image in this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_outbreak_in_New_York_(state) 199.46.250.141 (talk) 12:01, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

ok i have all the data on the county breakdown of infections. I do not know how to create a map or what would be the best way to create this in wiki. I am happy ot provide this information in this talk page if that would help or if someone wants to design the structure, I can fill in the places and locations. ThomasAquinas2019 (talk) 18:10, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

I can get the data, but I am not sure how to do it in wikipedia ThomasAquinas2019 (talk) 16:22, 11 March 2020 (UTC)16:22, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

How are we supposed to resolve simultaneous edits? I am not sure sorry. ThomasAquinas2019 (talk) 18:05, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

The New York and Washington state articles are modifying images similar to this https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Massachusetts_Democratic_Presidential_Primary_Election_Results_by_County,_2016.svg 199.46.250.141 (talk) 19:47, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

As it turns out, SVG images are just XML documents dictating to the browser/interpreter how to draw an image. So taking that democratic presidential primary SVG and modifying it to show different colors denoting presumptive/confirmed cases was very simple. I am working on figuring out how to upload an SVG I modified showing the 3/10/2020 statistics from the state. 199.46.250.141 (talk) 11:55, 12 March 2020 (UTC)

Here is the image I made that I was talking about: Uncreativite (talk) 12:11, 12 March 2020 (UTC)

Map of counties in Massachusetts (state) with presumptive and confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of March 10th, 2020

perfect thank you for the image. Two questions one. I have the current list of outbreaks per county. (March 12, 2020) This number is released each day at 4 pm (EST) on the MassDPH website. The url is Is there away to add the numbers into the counties themselves to give a better understanding of the scope?

Current numbers are Berkshire - 9 Essex - 2 Middlesex - 49 Norfolk - 24 Suffolk 22 Worcester 1 Unknown - 1 Also the issues of presumptive and positive test results is at this point a distinction without a difference because the law is such that only the CDCD "confirm" and so the MassDPH lab has to mail the samples to Georgia and await results. Obviously given the gravity of the problem the CDC is not confirming state test but trying to get kites out. Therefore nothing is ever going to be "confirmed" until after the situation is in some sense stabilized. The state labs have the kits to test and so the "Presumptive" are determined by positive test administered by the state of Massachusetts. It is just they haven't been administered by the CDC. The problem is this gives the impression tat someone is symptomatic and is considered "presumptive" as opposed to someone who has a positive test as administered by an official from the Massachusetts State Department of Health. I am not saying change it but maybe we could note that somehow, because this is how it is described in the media, but it is seems to confuse a lot of people in the state regarding the scope or size of the problem. ThomasAquinas2019 (talk) 00:03, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

References

I checked the list at 4:01 PM on March 12, 2020 and they had not updated it so I had to make the image for what they had released on March 10th. It seems the pandemic hasn't yet shown up in testing for other counties, so I think we can just update the description of the image to say it's accurate for March 12th released statistics. And while I agree that putting the numbers into the image itself to help users visualize the spread better is a great idea, I have no idea how to do that. Modifying an existing image's colors was a simple job but adding text or changing the shapes is not something I'm equipped to do. As far as noting this issue with the testing/presumptive stuff, I'm not quite sure how to add a little note mentioning that. But I think it would be a good idea to add one. Uncreativite (talk) 16:31, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Hi I love the stuff you guys are doing. I updated the url for the MassDPH site for today's numbers. Stay safe out there. it is getting scary here ThomasAquinas2019 (talk) 03:40, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Biogen outbreak

hi guys as of today 70 out of the 95 infected individuals in Massachusetts are executives of Biogen, INC. This has been well documented in the state as it releases its numbers. I don't want to focus undue attention on them in a time of crisis, but everyone in this state has heard about that company and it is the index case for this state. With the dates setup, I think you lose the sense that this thing is moving a definable trajectory in terms of who got it and from where and can be traced at this point very clearly. Is there away to either make a sub section about the developments at Biogen? It is well documented that an Italian national who is an executive flew into Boston on February 24 and attended the conference. This is a probably the third largest community spread in the country besides the Kirkland Life Center in Washington and the synagogue in New Rochelle, New York. any thoughts? ThomasAquinas2019 (talk) 01:54, 12 March 2020 (UTC)

List of cases in Massachusetts

Necessary detail? ~Half of the table is currently unsourced. Thoughts re: this list/table? ---Another Believer _(Talk) 15:17, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

I think it's WP:UNDUE, especially without sourcing. This is an epidemic, a few isolated cases aren't really that important. If reliable sources exist for the information, and it's relevant, it's best presented in prose anyway. --AntiCompositeNumber (talk) 15:48, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

AntiCompositeNumber, I've removed for now. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 15:55, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

I have to admire the effort expended by the anonymous contributor of that table, and I can see how it might have had some utility in the short term, but it is naive to think that we could possibly keep it up-to-date in the days to come. Mark Taylor (talk) 17:38, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

dang i wish the user identified themselves because i didn't see it except on my phone. i wish there was a way to work that into this somehow. ThomasAquinas2019 (talk) 18:09, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

I'd like to suggest to the anonymous user to create a Wikipedia account and maintain the table on their user page. I find the content interesting even if it might not meet the criteria for this page. Mark Taylor (talk) 20:43, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

I think the table is extremely useful, but I don't think it really belongs on the article. Also, cases 124 and 125 are duplicates, but 125 states it's the first case within Bristol county but the source for it is the same source as 124 (a source stating the first case in Barnstable county). That table needs to be checked more thoroughly or removed — Preceding unsigned comment added by Uncreativite (talk • contribs) 23:58, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

I've removed the table twice already. I'll let someone else take over from here so I don't violate WP:3RR. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 00:17, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

If it keeps reappearing after people have removed it, we may need to ask a moderator for some sort of assistance in the matter. Uncreativite (talk) 01:28, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

Honestly, I wouldn't bother. Given the exponential growth, I'm afraid this problem will resolve itself in just a few days when it becomes impossible to document every new case. Mark Taylor (talk) 01:56, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

Hello, brand new to editing on Wikipedia here-- I created this table as a way to track the municipalities that have cases. I understand that it will only grow, but there is value in that not only does it show the municipalities, it provides more information not included in the text of other sections (which towns are in a state of emergency, which cases signal community spread, Norwood town manager, etc). *Because my goal was to identify the towns with cases, I have created a complimentary map of infected towns in MS Paint- maybe this would be more beneficial than an "unmanageable" table.* Again, still new here so I don't know the standards for maps (let alone how to upload one). Another alternative would be to create/link to a separate page- the table is the fruit of my quarantine labor, other users have edited/added to it, so it must serve some purpose/provide informative value/people are on board w me..? so why not keep going for now :) go easy on me ok thanks bye~ q 108.26.178.240 (talk) 03:52, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for your contributions here, but the consensus is that the list doesn't belong in the article because it gives undue weight to individual cases and is unmaintainable in the long term. One potential way to address this is to use the data to produce a chart that shows the growth in cases by county or town over time. I think that would be more useful to readers and would consolidate this information into a smaller space, which would address the due weight issue. Qono (talk) 01:25, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

Alright well :( Not sure abt the "unmaintainable" thing, considering it's been maintained for approx 1 week- but this is not very long term, I understand. I'll just keep going with it in an excel sheet. Is there any interest in a map of towns (like a political map-style)? Or a simple bulleted list of towns rather than the table? q108.26.178.240 (talk) 02:55, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

Hi! I've been coming to this page for a few days now just to see the table. If they're taking it down, and you're still maintaining it somewhere else, is there another place for people to see it online? Thanks for building it so far! Cseyrafi 15:10, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

Cseyrafi, I've created a subpage of the talk page for this article that recreates the last version of the list of cases section before it was removed from the article. This page can be referenced and updated, but you won't be able to use the Visual Editor because it is on a talk page. If you want to use the Visual Editor to maintain this list, I recommend creating a subpage of your user page for this list. Qono (talk) 15:32, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

@108.26.178.240 Would it be possible to provide the map of individual towns form MS Paint? , I still think a map of towns instead of counties is more helpful. Toran107 (talk) 20:10, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

Qono, thanks! Cseyrafi 14:55, 20 March 2020 (UTC)

Worcester County case from March 14

I am not sure who added the table with the March 14 dates, but it appears that today Worchester County got its first COVID19 infection. This person is affliated with the Biogen conference. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ThomasAquinas2019 (talk • contribs) 23:39, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

References

WikiProject COVID-19

I've created WikiProject COVID-19 as a temporary or permanent WikiProject and invite editors to use this space for discussing ways to improve coverage of the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. Please bring your ideas to the project/talk page. Stay safe, ---Another Believer _(Talk) 16:49, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

Biogen conference

Is it me or does this Biogen conference need its own article? I feel like it's consistently creating more news and will likely be a 'textbook' source for future understanding of how a disease like this spreads. Curious what others think? Victor Grigas (talk) 01:57, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

Victorgrigas, Consider starting with a Biogen section here first? If the section becomes too long, forking out a standalone page is easy. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 02:00, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

Growth by Exposure Cluster

I'd like to add or convert the data under [by Exposure Cluster] to a chart analogous to what is shown on the NY state page. I think this would help enable comparison between geographic entities (in this case, states).

I am a data visualization professional but with limited Wikipedia editing experience. Wanted to check in here about best practices and get people's thoughts on this.

Smtology (talk) 14:57, 18 March 2020 (UTC)smtology

Done. Mark Taylor (talk) 18:15, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

So great -- thank you! Smtology (talk) 21:07, 18 March 2020 (UTC)smtology

Cases by county map

Can the map be changed to cases by county per capita? County boundaries are relatively arbitrary and the populations of each are nowhere close to being the same. I think that normalizing the number of cases with the population of each county would make the map more useful. Grk1011 (talk) 16:28, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

• Support Toran107 (talk) 20:20, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

Grk1011, This makes sense to me. I'm pinging @Emw:, who has been putting in the good work of creating these visualizations and updating them daily. Qono (talk) 01:11, 19 March 2020 (UTC)