Online Tool Takes Comprehensive Look at COVID-19's Toll on Texas

DALLAS, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas 2036 today launched a comprehensive COVID-19 online dashboard that presents critical health and economic data in one easy-to-visualize format — both statewide and for all Texas counties currently reporting COVID-19 data — giving Texans a daily snapshot of how the pandemic is affecting Texans' lives and livelihoods.

Texas 2036 created the dashboard to distill the best available data into an easily understandable format for state leaders and the public. Texas 2036 consulted with medical experts at the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin to spotlight the most important information about the pandemic.

"Every decision in a crisis is critical, and the weight of those decisions highlights the importance of data. Toward that end, our team at Texas 2036 stepped forward to bring the best data possible into the conversation to help reopen the Texas economy safely and to monitor the health and economic impacts as we take incremental steps," said Texas 2036 Founder Tom Luce. "With the cooperation of the Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas 2036's data team produced this unique tool, which we will continue to improve and revise. Transparent, accessible tools like this dashboard will help guide understanding and action on the difficult choices and opportunities facing Texans as we fight this unpredictable, deadly virus."

The new public dashboard, which can be found at covid19.Texas2036.org, represents the most comprehensive Texas data tool to date, with both county information and statistical modeling information. The public will find on the site:

• Reopening Analysis: The federal government established initial criteria for states to follow as they consider opening up their economies. This analysis shows how Texas and its individual counties continue to measure up against these criteria.
• State Explorer: COVID-19's impact on Texas has been both wide and deep. The State Explorer includes data visualizations that track the toll the virus has taken on Texans' health, as well as the deep economic hardship it has created across the state.
• County Explorer: Not every community has felt the effects of COVID-19 equally. Through partnerships with many stakeholders across the state, the dashboard documents local impacts playing out across Texas' counties.

"This information vividly illustrates how Texas is doing right now and where our state needs to improve," said Margaret Spellings, CEO of Texas 2036. "Texans can use these tools to get a better sense of their state's progress — and their community's — and of continued challenges across a wide variety of metrics."

The data is compiled daily from a variety of different sources, ranging from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to Homebase (a private-sector scheduling and time-tracking tool) to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The data sets and visualizations allow the viewer to simultaneously track health and economic impacts of the epidemic across various communities. Additional data sets will be added in upcoming weeks to continue to build on this comprehensive, multifaceted platform to better inform policymakers and the public.

Taken together, the data sets demonstrate the breadth of interconnected challenges Texas faces in protecting its 254 counties and 29 million people, and in reviving the economy on which those people and communities depend. The dashboard dovetails with the mission of Texas 2036, a nonprofit group created both to pull together a wide range of data sets covering the spectrum of issues — including government performance — that will shape Texas' future, and to help leaders make decisions ensuring the state's continued prosperity when Texas reaches its bicentennial in 16 years.

"This information vividly illustrates how Texas is doing right now and where our state needs to improve," Luce said. "Reliable, credible data can help move Texas forward."

At this time, the COVID-19 tracking tool includes the following information:

COVID-Cases, Testing and Morbidity

• New COVID-19 Cases Per Day
• Daily Positive Test Rate
• Daily Test Volume
• Test Positive Rate
• COVID-19 Growth Rate from the Previous Day
• Total Tests per Capita
• Daily New COVID-19 Deaths

Symptoms:

• Influenza-Like Illnesses
• COVID-Like Illnesses

Hospitals:

• Hospital Beds
• Percentage of Available Beds
• Percentage of Available ICU Beds
• Available Adult Ventilators
• Available Pediatric Ventilators

Economic Impact:

• Texas Jobless Claims
• Estimated Change in Businesses Open
• Estimated Change in Hours Worked by Hourly Employees
• Estimated Change in Number of Hourly Employees Working

The Texas COVID-19 Data Resource utilizes data "as is" from multiple sources and bases analysis upon such data. Texas 2036 assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions which may exist in the underlying data set or subsequent calculations. The data is obtained directly from the cited sources and is updated regularly. The teams that assembled the tools could not see any personal identifying information about the individuals behind the data, and such identifying information is not available or visible to anyone using the tools.

About Texas 2036

Texas 2036 is a nonprofit organization building long-term, data-driven strategies to secure Texas' prosperity through our state's bicentennial and beyond. We offer non-partisan ideas and modern solutions that are grounded in research and data on issues that matter most to all Texans. For more information visit www.texas2036.org.

SOURCE Texas 2036

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