Members of the Singapore community have developed tools which supposedly pinpoint the locations of all confirmed novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases here. One of them is a webpage with a map designed by a HardwareZone Forum member, and another is an Android app with a heat map.
Website shows the spread of 2019-nCoV in Singapore
The https://sgwuhan.xose.net has been shared in WhatsApp groups, on Facebook and on HardwareZone Forum. It is a simplified version of the live dashboard developed by Johns Hopkins University, which tracks the global spread of 2019-nCoV.
When one opens the site, a message will pop up to tell one that it is not affiliated or endorsed by any government agency. It says that its purpose is to help viewers visualise the locations of nCoV cases provided by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Red dots indicate the locations of new cases, yellow dots indicate ongoing cases, while white dots indicate the places which have been visited by the infected. More details of each case pop up when you click on the dots.
This is the message on the website in full:
The risk of infection from transient contact is low. There is no need to avoid places where suspected and confirmed cases have been. For more information, refer to official sources such as the Ministry of Health’s and Gov.sg, 2019ncov.
Purpose of this site is to illustrate and visualize the locations of nCov cases provided by the Ministry of Health. This site is not affiliated with, or endorsed by any Government Agency in any way.
The map appears to be using publicly published information available on the official Ministry of Health website.
However, in a Facebook post where Filipino chef Charles Montanez shared the site, he implied that the dots on the map had been plotted based on Global Positioning System information from the tracker bands worn by nCoV patients.
This is what he wrote: “While you’re in SG, you can detect the location of affected individuals because they are required to wear tracker bands. They are not allowed to leave their homes as they will get dragged back if they go a few meters away, And more importantly for the civilians to get notified on which places to avoid.”
Related: Is there a need to avoid places where Chinese tourists have visited, such as Yong Thai Hang?
Alvinology.com has reached out to MOH for comment, but have yet to receive a response.
Earlier, MOH had already clarified on its website that there is no need to avoid places where suspected or confirmed cases of nCoV have been. “The risk of infection from transient contact, such as in public places, is low,” it said.
The SG Dorscon app shows the number of cases pending test results
This app by Michael.Lab is a straightforward one where it indicates the number of confirmed cases, the number of people pending their test results, and the locations of the confirmed cases. However, there is no legend which explains what the colours of the pins represent. You can’t access individual case info by tapping on the pins, either.
You can download the app here.
Do you know of any other tracking tools which have been developed to track the coronavirus? Please share them with us.
