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Wolf administration to use Carnegie Mellon-developed data dashboard in reopening Pennsylvania | TribLIVE.com
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Wolf administration to use Carnegie Mellon-developed data dashboard in reopening Pennsylvania

Teghan Simonton
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Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University is working with Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to develop a data dashboard, compiling information from agencies to determine what areas of Pennsylvania can safely reopen.

The dashboard will help the state take a “regional and sector-based approach” to easing stay-at-home restrictions, according to CMU.

Wolf announced Wednesday evening that he was beginning plans to ease some pandemic restrictions May 8. But restrictions cannot be lifted all at once, he said. Areas that are less impacted by the coronavirus, including the northwestern and northcentral parts of the state, will reopen first. Other regions will gradually follow once public health is no longer a concern.

The CMU dashboard will “enable a balance between maximizing the results of our economy while minimizing public health risks,” Wolf’s office said.

A team of 30 CMU faculty, students and researchers trained in technology, mathematics and policy came together to develop the data tool.

“The purpose is to provide important information to the governor’s team to make data-informed decisions,” said Ramayya Krishnan, dean of CMU’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and director of the Block Center for Technology and Society.

The dashboard will use data from the state departments of Labor & Industry, Human Services, Community and Economic Development, Revenue and Health. It will consider worker exposure and covid-19 spread risks, a region’s health care capacity, economic impact and supply chain impact to help the administration prioritize reopenings where need is great and risk can be mitigated.

Data will be linked together to help analyze the state of Pennsylvania’s economy and predict which industries, businesses and regions will be most at risk, CMU said. The dashboard will model “what-if scenarios” to help the administration in reopening decisions.

“This has been an incredible opportunity and we appreciate the governor including us in this important work for the commonwealth,” Krishnan said.

In the past month, Carnegie Mellon has facilitated the development of several tech tools aimed at researching the pandemic and aiding the public’s response. Two weeks ago, the university partnered with Facebook to gather data on individuals with covid-19 symptoms, and is launching a website to display results this week. Another professor created a free Android app to anonymously trace users’ contact with individuals who self-reported testing positive for the disease.

The newest project comes while several states are engrossed in debate on whether or not to reopen economies. Protests erupted this week in Harrisburg and in Downtown Pittsburgh as people gathered to protest Wolf’s restrictions in Pennsylvania.

Still, public health experts warn that reopening too quickly will cause a second wave of the virus, bringing on more infections and deaths. Additionally, despite protests in cities across the country, polls show most Americans support stay-at-home measures.

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Categories: Coronavirus | Education | Local | Allegheny
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