Mapping the outbreak

A combined effort

"I shared a QR code in my WeChat moments. This allowed volunteers to enter a chat group, where we would collaborate on the map project," recalls Chen.

To his astonishment, more than 100 users soon flowed into the group, presented their different expertise and talents and suggested the roles they could play in the team.

Two days later, the team members held an online meeting to decide a clear-cut division of labor, and to allocate tasks, such as data collection, technological support, design and modeling, as well as volunteer recruitment.

"As the team grows larger, I have to learn not only how to better communicate with my teammates, but also how to represent the group when carrying out collaborative programs with other research groups," says Chen.

Epidemiology experts also came to offer suggestions.

Chen's schoolmate Lu Yao has been engaged in collecting and charting details about each case, including the patient's location, the time he or she exhibited symptoms, the hospital where the case was identified and related information sources.

Lu says when collecting data, she was exposed to overwhelming news about a large number of confirmed cases every single day, leading to a sense of depression.

"Especially after I read the details about several familial clusters of the epidemic, I had to learn to deal with my negative emotions," she says.

However, Lu's workload has been thankfully reduced as cases in China drop.