The importancve of timely solutions and policies were highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The spread of disinformation and misinformation during the pandemic brought obtaining and analyzing accurate space-time to the fore. The need from agencies around the world on actionable results made communicating science a matter of life and death.

The first COVID-19 Data Forum, co-sponsored by the Stanford Data Science Institute and the R Consortium, was held May 14, 2020. The forum used Zoom as a way to connect remote specialists, present information, and conduct a Q&A session so that participants could ask questions and give opinions.

Below is my presentation on the sources and importance of geospatial COVID-19 data at the start of the pandemic.