Cool. Maybe fit a logistic function instead of an exponential, though :)
How do you do that if the growth rate hasn't started to slow yet?
least squares with a fixed population value?
It's called a semi-log plot. X is linear time, Y is log population count. The slope of exponential-like acceleration phase indicates the growth rate.
PS: this type of data is much better modeled by relatively simple ordinary differential equations because the rate of change of a communicable disease is proportional to the number infected.
Really cool work! Would be interesting to fit a logistic as well to see if any case curve flattening can be seen. I plotted the points for Italy and it seems like the growth rate is decreasing.
Hug of death on the images
I setup a 301 redirect, directly to the Johns Hopkins dashboard using a common nickname for coronavirus: