Combating coronavirus: New dashboard to monitor, predict Covid-19 spread in Dubai

The Dubai Covid-19 Command and Control Centre (CCC) has collaborated with Smart Dubai to develop an innovative digital dashboard to monitor and predict the spread of Covid-19 in Dubai. The dashboard, which supports the centre's strategy to fight the pandemic in Dubai, is based on accurate and consistently updated real-time data to help facilitate effective containment measures.

Dr. Amer Sharif, Head of Dubai's Covid-19 Command and Control Centre (CCC) said: "With the guidance of our leadership and the concerted efforts of the government and private sector, we were able to build a database filled with accurate information about the frequency of the spread of the virus in Dubai. This platform is crucial in supporting the decision-making process to effectively confront the spread of the virus based on available information and up-to-date data on the actual spread of the pandemic in Dubai, and the state of the healthcare system in the city."

He added: "We wanted to implement the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, reflected in his statement that "creating the future is not just improvised decisions, but rather strategic plans based on knowledge, and clear goals based on accurate statistics and real data." This is how we work at Dubai's Covid-19 Command and Control Centre. Every step is calculated based on data."

"Over the past years and through the Dubai Data and Smart Dubai, we have been able to establish a data experience that is one of the most comprehensive and innovative globally. The COVID-19 pandemic was a real test to our capabilities when it comes to data, and therefore we employed the available infrastructure to find the best ways to support decision-making processes to control this pandemic. We wanted to provide the decision makers in Dubai with live data that allows them to follow the latest developments and updated measures to ensure the health and safety of citizens and residents," said Younus Al Nasser, CEO of Dubai Data, an initiative of Smart Dubai, and Leader of the Technology and Data team at the COVID-19 Command and Control Centre.

He added: "The dashboard plays an important role in the gradual reopening of various industries in Dubai, so the dashboard data will allow us to support decisions for the safe return of business activities and daily life in the coming period."

Developed through a well-known epidemiology equation known as SEIR (Susceptible Exposed Infected Resistant), the dashboard helps in processing and analysing the data, and provides perceptions and predictions on Covid-19 developments. The Government of Dubai has been investing in smart infrastructure and information technology systems over the past two decades, which today are enabling us to develop analytical models to study phenomena in different fields. This specific dashboard was designed in a way that provides an analytical visualisation of the data as it includes detailed data to know the current situation, in addition to predicting the desired situation to control the spread of the virus in the community.

The dashboard was the result of a close collaboration between the Covid-19 Command and Control Centre (CCC), Smart Dubai, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU).

The dashboard collates and monitors crucial information on total number of infections by type - asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, moderately symptomatic, and severely symptomatic - cumulative numbers of infections, recoveries, and critical cases across Dubai.

It utilises a variety of factors including demographics displaying per capita infections, geographical distribution of infections across Dubai, and cases in isolation facilities, along with logistical information such as the number of facilities and medical supplies available at each.

In collaboration with Smart Dubai and its data scientists, the dashboard was linked with the Dubai Health Authority's Hasana Program, a public health system that monitors and manages infectious diseases and epidemics, by connecting government and private healthcare sectors in Dubai, and their partners, using a unified system for managing diseases and outbreaks. This system enables users to review results to support decision making, and can send electronic notifications on the availability of laboratory results and disease status.