#DataViz: Coronavirus in Honduras

This article was published on 04/05/2020

Updated 05/07/2020 4:22 PM (Spanish peninsular time)

These are difficult times for everyone. COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the health of many people, on the economies of countries, and on the dynamics of what we knew as a "normal world."

It's no secret that the pandemic has taken government officials by surprise. It's not an easy situation. In most cases, the virus has exposed precarious health systems, inadequate strategies, and a lack of public policies to address a crisis of this magnitude.

Honduras was already a highly vulnerable country before the coronavirus, and now we all fear that it will worsen. Personally, I am concerned that there is a lot of information we still don't know, and that among the flood of news, the most important data is being lost. I also emphasize that the Honduran government must improve the way it shares information. For this reason, I decided to create a database with official case information provided by the National Risk Management System (SINAGER) since March 11, 2020.

UNTIL MAY 7, 2020: 1,685 confirmed cases nationwide

Infections by department

Select a department to find out the number of confirmed cases.

The press releases issued do not provide residency information for one confirmed case, number 27. Therefore, it was categorized as "no information" in the database. The only departments with no recorded cases are Gracias a Dios and Islas de la Bahía.

Evolution of infections and deaths per day

Hover over the progression line and it will show the date, the number of infected people, and the number of deaths.

SINAGER reports 105 deaths in its press releases, but does not provide information on the seventh death. Forty percent of the reported deaths are residents of Cortés over the age of 50.

The case fatality rate (deaths/number of confirmed cases) is 6.23%.

Important: This case fatality rate is not representative. That is, we know that a low number of tests are performed, resulting in underreporting of cases. If more tests were performed, there would be more confirmed cases, and the case fatality rate could decrease. We need data that is closer to reality. We need more testing.

Infections by age group

Age is a risk factor for people infected with COVID-19. The older you are, the greater the risk. It's important to emphasize that other risk factors include pre-existing conditions (lung and heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer). SINAGER reports that 258 infected people are over 60 years old .

Currently, there is no information on the underlying conditions of the confirmed cases, nor on the ages of the four reported cases.

Contagions by sex

39.7 % of confirmed cases in Honduras are women. Colón, Atlántida, Comayagua, and Copán are the departments where women outnumber men in infections. There is no information on one confirmed case, so it was categorized as "no information."

Status of confirmed cases

During the first days of the crisis, SINAGER's communications regarding the status of infected patients were inconsistent. Starting on March 26, 2020, they began providing data on the cumulative number of hospitalized patients (stable, critically ill, or in the ICU). However, they did not provide exact data on the number of cases currently recovering at home. To calculate this figure, only active cases must be considered (and are obtained by subtracting deaths and recoveries).

The database began to be updated with this criterion starting April 3, 2020.

(Swipe right)

We need the data to keep flowing. The Honduran government must provide it in the most transparent—and open—way possible, so that it can be used by all Hondurans. It's our right. We're walking in the dark, unaware of certain data that would be invaluable. Among them:

- Number of tests performed (must continue to be updated daily)

- Health personnel by department

- Available ICU beds per hospital

- Beds available per hospital

- Number of Hondurans abroad who are infected or have died (e.g. in the US)

...inter alia.

---

There's still a lot to do :) I'll continue to update the information published through the press releases. That's why I'm sharing my current log in an editable format. Click this link to download it.

Feel free to use it for whatever you need. And if you have any comments or observations, please let me know. You can email me at vivianpavonf@gmail.com .

I send you all a virtual hug from Madrid! And as you know... stay home.

VQV

Thanks to Natasha Cambronero and Francisco Molina for their feedback.