In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing healthcare and economic crises arising as a result, Dr. Abhishek Dutta created a portal summarizing important details of the spread of the virus in a format that can be easily navigated by all. The portal, which can be found at https://sars2cov.wordpress.com/, covers the entirety of the spread of the virus, from infection to medication, with information about all stages of the disease’s progression aggregated into one website. It is also being hosted by the National Institute of Health’s Interagency Modeling and Analysis Group on their website as a resource on the disease. Additionally, it has been posted at the IEEE Corona Control Community website and is archived in the UConn COVID-19 collection.
Dr. Dutta is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. He is involved in research and teaching with the UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering. Dutta thinks that “his experience as a multidisciplinary researcher in the engineering and biomedical fields uniquely qualify him to contribute an overall picture on the pandemic that is understandable to engineers, healthcare professionals as well as patients and students”.
Dutta’s COVID-19 portal offers a unique summary of information to visitors because of the accessible way the information is presented, with language and graphics that can be followed by the general public as well as medical professionals. Information on the process of the disease is collected on the site and is backed by scientific explanation. The approachable display of this information allows for a greater understanding of the disease among a greater number of people.
The increase of information available to the general public on the spread of the disease can empower people to make better decisions in regards to their health behaviors during this pandemic. This in turn can affect the government and policy maker’s decisions for the country’s well being. Spreading awareness of the details of COVID-19 can have an important effect on the way the general public reacts to the virus, and this portal contributes to spreading awareness.