Why isn't the government publishing more data about coronavirus deaths? | Jeni Tennison

Studying the past is futile in an unprecedented crisis. Science is the answer – and open-source information is paramount

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Wherever we look, there is a demand for data about Covid-19. We devour dashboards, graphs and visualisations. We want to know about the numbers of tests, cases and deaths; how many beds and ventilators are available, how many NHS workers are off sick. When information is missing, we speculate about what the government might be hiding, or fill in the gaps with anecdotes.

Data is a necessary ingredient in day-to-day decision-making – but in this rapidly evolving situation, it’s especially vital. Everything has changed, almost overnight. Demands for food, transport, and energy have been overhauled as more people stop travelling and work from home. Jobs have been lost in some sectors, and workers are desperately needed in others. Historic experience can no longer tell us how our society or economy is working. Past models hold little predictive power in an unprecedented situation. To know what is happening right now, we need up-to-date information.

Related: A public inquiry into the UK's coronavirus response would find a litany of failures | Anthony Costello

Jeni Tennison is technical director of the Open Data Institute.