WIREDGOV

An online app which lets people find out the number of Covid-19 cases near their home has been used more than three million times.

NHS Digital’s Coronavirus In Your Area dashboard allows users to check coronavirus cases within one to ten miles of their postcode, as well as statistics for positive cases from the previous ten weeks.

Over 65,000 searches were carried out using the app on Monday 4 January when the third national lockdown was announced in England, and the website has continued to receive over 70,000 views every week.

Alistair Bullward, NHS Digital’s open data and dashboards manager, said:

“We believe in improving lives through data and technology, and our Coronavirus In Your Area app empowers people to understand the risk from coronavirus where they live.

“It’s really easy to use as all you need to do is enter your postcode to find out the number of cases in your neighbourhood, and we’ve now seen more than three million searches carried out using the app over the past four months.

“We hope the dashboard will help reassure people as lockdown restrictions are eased, while also reminding them of the importance of following the restrictions that remain in place.”

NHS Digital is the national data and technology organisation for health and social care, and provides products, systems and services to support the NHS.

The organisation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has included providing the technology behind coronavirus testing; using data to identify clinically extremely vulnerable individuals for shielding; and developing the digital infrastructure for the vaccination programme.

The Coronavirus In Your Area app was created by NHS Digital’s data services team last year alongside several other dashboards to provide data on the pandemic.

The app also provides information on the number of people who have received a clinical assessment of potential coronavirus symptoms using the NHS 111 telephone service.

The dashboard is updated daily with the latest statistics and you can find out about cases in your neighbourhood by visiting www.digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/coronavirus-in-your-area.

Notes for editors

1. Data in the dashboard covers the most recent week ending five days before the current calendar date. Data is refreshed daily and displays the most recent 10 weeks of information.

2. Statistics for areas with fewer than three cases in a week are not included in the dashboard to preserve anonymity.