Over the past four years, Mike Honey has dedicated numerous hours each week to collecting and disseminating crucial data regarding COVID-19.
Paul Griffin, an expert in infectious diseases and a clinical microbiologist at the University of Queensland, remarked, “The service he’s provided is immensely valuable.”
Remarkably, Honey undertakes this task voluntarily in his free time.
Initially, he shared his findings on GitHub, a platform for open-source code, and eventually expanded his reach to various other online spaces.
The graph he developed illustrates the estimated current COVID-19 case numbers across the nation, using data from cases among aged care workers.
National case numbers aren’t the only ones he keeps track of. He also monitors variants, vaccine uptake, and aged care case numbers, and posts case charts for New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
It wasn’t long before epidemiologists started to take notice.
An ‘incredibly valuable service’
“Then I came across a Tweet from Mike that led to his GitHub site, which provided exactly the information I was looking for,” he said.
“Like how we manage our hospitals and healthcare systems, and counsel our individual patients so they have an understanding of the risk,” he said.
A legacy in medicine
His late uncle, Dr Norman Honey, dedicated his life to treating leprosy patients and fighting the disease’s stigma. He worked in West Africa before moving to Hong Kong, where he served as chief medical officer.
Norman Honey (centre-right) after receiving a Member of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth in 1994 for his work treating leprosy patients. Source: Supplied / Mike Honey
Though much of the data is now gathered automatically, Honey said he still spends a few hours each week tracking COVID-19.
