Mississippi just got a social distancing ‘grade.’ See how your county fared.
The novel coronavirus continues to impact thousands across the U.S., and new data shows Mississippians, specifically, could be doing a better job at helping slow the spread of the highly contagious disease.
Human mobility company Unacast, Inc. is monitoring how well Americans are practicing social distancing amid the outbreak, using cellphone data to track the average distance people are traveling during the pandemic compared to their travel habits prior to the public health emergency, as explained on the firm’s website. From there, each U.S state and county is assigned a “grade” as part of a national scorecard.
Mississippi earned a C rating, Tuesday’s numbers show. State rankings are reflected on a colorful, interactive map using data that’s updated on a daily basis.
“Since we know time is of the essence in the fight against COVID19, our team is figuring out if we can reduce the lag, use less data and still provide strong signals,” the company said. “At the same time, we will further enhance our score to make it more robust and explain different facets of social distancing.”
According to the latest data, published March 30, Mississippi has seen a 20-30 percent decrease in the average distance traveled. New reported cases of the virus peaked at 108 on March 26, with a notable dip in how often Mississippians were traveling between March 19 and 21. That average saw around a 20 percent hike in how much people moved between March 22 and 24, however, as the state continued to report more cases of the disease.
The change in average mobility has since leveled out, with little to no change in the last few days with traceable data.
The Magnolia State currently has more than 930 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, data from Johns Hopkins University shows. There are more than 170,000 confirmed cases of the disease in the U.S. with hundreds of thousands more cases globally.
More than 3,400 people have died from the virus in the US, with another 6,000 who have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. Globally, more than 41,000 have died with at least 175,000 recovered.
Top health officials, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have urged the public to practice responsible social distancing, as it’s currently the best known defense against the continued spread of the virus. Social distancing guidelines advise people, especially those in “high risk” groups including the elderly and those with preexisting conditions such as diabetes, to avoid congregating in large groups and stay at least 6 feet from others when possible.
The spread of the virus has also forced the closures of many schools, restaurants, bars and other essential businesses across the country, with local leaders urging residents to stay at home.
On Tuesday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued a stay-at-home order for Lauderdale County — the first such lockdown for the state.
The order will begin at 10 p.m. Tuesday, lasting through April 14.
Lauderdale County earned a failing grade, and is among the lowest ranking counties in the state when it comes to social distancing, according to the Unacast scorecard. Marshall, Kemper and Scott counties also got F’s.
Meanwhile, Madison, Wilkinson, Webster and Prentiss counties ranked the best in state, scoring A’s and B’s.
“This is the first of many actions that will come as a result of our ‘Identify and Isolate’ strategy to protect Mississippi’s health care system from being overwhelmed,” Reeves told reporters early Tuesday, according to WLBT. “Keeping Mississippians healthy and safe while working to slow the spread remains our top priority. This order builds on the state’s other social distancing requirements to protect public health. Please stay home so we can all stay healthy.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 3:16 PM.