Abstract
BackgroundVarious applications have been developed worldwide to contain and to combat the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this context, spatial information is always of great significance. The aim of this study is to describe the development of a Web GIS based on open source products for the collection and analysis of COVID-19 cases and its feasibility in terms of technical implementation and data protection.MethodsWith the help of this Web GIS, data on this issue were collected voluntarily from the Cologne area. Using house perimeters as a data basis, it was possible to check, in conjunction with the Official Topographic Cartographic Information System object type catalog, whether buildings with certain functions, for example residential building with trade and services, have been visited more frequently by infected persons than other types of buildings. In this context, data protection and ethical and legal issues were considered.ResultsThe results of this study show that the development of a Web GIS for the generation and evaluation of volunteered geographic information (VGI) with the help of open source software is possible. Furthermore, there are numerous data protection and ethical and legal aspects to consider, which not only affect VGI per se but also affect IT security.ConclusionsFrom a data protection perspective, more attention needs to be paid to the intervention and post-processing of data. In addition, official data must always be used as a reference for the actual spatial consideration of the number of infections. However, VGI provides added value at a small-scale level, so that valid information can also be reliably derived in the context of health issues. The creation of guidelines for the consideration of data protection, ethical aspects, and legal requirements in the context of VGI-based applications must also be considered.Trial registration The article does not report the results of a health care intervention for human participants
Highlights
Relevance Knowledge of COVID-19 and its spatial distribution is important because of numerous issues
Nicola et al [3] cited a variety of socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic, affecting all sectors of the economy
The public transport frequency is lower in many places [4] or public transport services are used less [5], and air traffic has been reduced to a minimum [6]. Complete industries such as the hotel/hospitality industry have to temporarily stop work [7], and companies can more put their employees on short-time work through political decisions to reduce costs [8], while universities and schools have switched to virtual teaching [9] and daycare centers have remained closed altogether. This is accompanied by other additional stresses and problems, such as working in a home office and at the same time having to take care of children [10] or increased case numbers of domestic violence [3]
Summary
Relevance Knowledge of COVID-19 and its spatial distribution is important because of numerous issues. Complete industries such as the hotel/hospitality industry have to temporarily stop work [7], and companies can more put their employees on short-time work through political decisions to reduce costs [8], while universities and schools have switched to virtual teaching [9] and daycare centers have remained closed altogether This is accompanied by other additional stresses and problems, such as working in a home office and at the same time having to take care of children [10] or increased case numbers of domestic violence [3]. The aim of this study is to describe the development of a Web GIS based on open source products for the collection and analysis of COVID19 cases and its feasibility in terms of technical implementation and data protection
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