That's called an 'epi curve' and it's a very common thing, but the data usually lags somewhat. 'Date of reporting of case' and 'date of onset of symptoms' are

That's called an 'epi curve' and it's a very common thing, but the data usually lags somewhat. 'Date of reporting of case' and 'date of onset of symptoms' are two different things, both useful. The epi curve has the problem that it always looks like cases are declining because the most recent few days are 'not filled in yet' by cases that have been reported. I don't think it's anti-scientific to report either way, so long as the dats is well represented.