Today, The @Tennessean published an investigation in which I identify dozens of links between known coronavirus clusters in Nashville through an analysis of contact tracing data. This is my most complex journalism of 2020. And this is a thread. 1/ https://www.tennessean.com/in-depth/news/2020/11/12/covid-19-outbreak-nashville-70-infection-clusters-contact-tracing-connections-tyson-facility-bars/5831912002/

My story is behind the paywall, so you must be a subscriber to read it. If you aren’t a subscriber, this thread will highlight some of our findings. But please consider a sub to support journalism like this. We need you. https://tennessean.subscriber.services/?gclid=CjwKCAiA17P9BRB2EiwAMvwNyDxX_2Wn4RlZvmEyjzfG3Ta21QERxCXZmyoK9yUXqifispzRaguNfRoCOAcQAvD_BwE

I started this story in July. In the quiet moments between the daily deadlines, data entry and bad tweets, I chipped away at the reporting. I worked lots of extra evenings, some weekends. I am quite proud of the result, and I’d be honored if you read it.

For all the Nashville gadflies out there, the end of this thread includes a twist that isn’t in the story. I think you are going to like it.

Here is a hint: It’s about a certain “Big Ass” bar's inadvertently contribution to the lofty pursuit of journalism.

This story uses deidentified contact tracing data to find connections between about 70 known coronavirus clusters in Nashville. The data covered 24,000 infections from March to August. Even stripped of personal info, it spanned 2.6 million data points.

The data allows me to identify pairs or groups people who:

1. Caught the virus within two weeks of each other
2. Lived in the same location
3. But were included in two separate clusters.

Each pair or group is a likely opportunity for one cluster to spark another.

I’ll give you an example. Let’s say there was a cluster at The Tennessean and I was infected, then my partner became infected in two weeks, then a cluster occurred at my partner’s job site. With this data I could find that link, even though I could not identify either one of us.

With links like these, I was able to finally connect some dots. Vanderbilt to the Tyson factory. Tyson to Mosaic Apartments. Mosaic Apartments to Saint Thomas Midtown. From construction site to construction site to construction site. From bar to bar to bar.

We already knew the Tyson meatpacking facility, with 280 infections, had the largest cluster in Nashville.

But this data shows Tyson was also directly and indirectly linked to 10 more clusters amounting to another 280 infections at least.

Tyson was kickoff point that sent the virus looping through our essential work force. There are direct links between Tyson and a cluster at the Broadwest Construction site, an indirect links to construction at both the Grand Hyatt and Montgomery Bell Academy.

And a lot more.

The data also taught me something new about infections in Nashville bars. The city shuttered bars for about six weeks starting on July 3. It was one of the contentious decisions in Nashville’s virus response. It spurred a recall effort against Mayor Cooper.

Critics of this decision insist there were too few infections from to bars to justify closure. Their evidence? A Metro Health email saying only 30 infections linked to bars as of June 30.

City officials insist this was just the tip of an iceberg.

The data backs that up. Contact tracers eventually discovered 97 infections occurred in six bar clusters before the bars closed on July 3. That’s more than three times the amount that has been made public before now.

Remember how I promised a twist? Well, here it is.

This story was only possible because of Nashville honky-tonk owners suing the city over coronavirus restrictions. They gave me a big assist, even if they didn’t intend to.

The core of my story is deidentified contact tracing data. I originally requested this data from the city over the summer, but it didn’t actually exist yet. Under public record laws, the city doesn’t have to create a new document to satisfy my request. So I was stuck.

But the city was sued by honky-tonks, including the artfully-named @KidRock's Big Ass Honky Tonk and Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse. As their lawsuit moved through the courts, the city was required to create deidentified contact tracing data as part of the legal discovery process.

Suddenly, the data I wanted sprung into existence. Once it existed, it was a public record. I asked the city again. They checked the data for HIPAA violations, cut any lingering personal info, then gave me a copy.

And then I got to work.

Why did I do all this? Two reasons. First, the coronavirus pandemic is the best example in my lifetime of the demonstrable damage of bad information. Ignorance is killing us. Stories like this one is the best way I know how I can help.

Second, in a city with talented and dedicated journalists like @flakebarmer, @anitawadhwani, @kara_nashpost and, yes, @NC5PhilWilliams, this is what it takes to compete. Nashville is lucky to have a fiercely competitive media landscape but it won’t stay that way without support.

So, please, if you believe in this work, consider subscribing to the @Tennessean . If you are already a subscriber, read and follow the @NashvillePost and the @TNLookout. Donate to @WPLN. Watch @NC5. Support the truth. We need it. Now more than ever.