Fighting back with data

In August, officials in St. Louis estimated that the pandemic had cost the city at least $21 million in lost revenue. But the city has also kept track of every penny spent to slow the spread of the virus using a new open data portal.

The website tracks things like how much personal protective equipment, additional IT services and COVID-19 test kits the city is buying and who it’s buying them from. It also shows how much the city is spending on COVID-19 relief areas, often provided through agreements with local homeless shelters.

“Even during a global emergency such as COVID-19, governments must remain accountable to the people,” St. Louis Mayor Lydia Krewson said in a press release announcing the data portal’s launch in April. “That includes showing them how we’re investing in critical, life-saving resources. I appreciate the multiple City departments that worked together to activate this portal in a timely, accessible manner.”