Newly released location data shows a sharp reduction in movement across the country as people stay home to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic — save for a few recalcitrant pockets where the message doesn’t seem to be sinking in.
The data, released on Friday by Google, uses aggregated, anonymized data harvested from from Google Maps or the search giant’s other services to track recent changes in mobility patterns.
Every state recorded double-digit decreases in travel for retail and recreation, with the national average declining 47 percent from the baseline.
But some states saw much smaller declines in retail and recreation travel, with the worst offenders including Arkansas (down just 29 percent), Mississippi (down 32 percent), Nebraska (down 34 percent) and Tennessee (down 35 percent).
At least three states also had counties where retail and recreation travel actually increased from the baseline in recent weeks, with Arkansas appearing to be the worst offender.
In Fayetteville, Arkansas on Monday, a line of around fifty people extends from the door of Arkansas Workforce Center seeking information about small business loans and applying for Arkansas unemployment benefits
Data from Arkansas saw a lower reduction in movement than the national average
In Arkansas, four counties recorded an increase in retail and recreation travel: Conway County, Hot Spring County, Marion County, and Poinsett County.
Arkansas is among the few states that has yet to issue a stay-at-home order either statewide or in major cities, along with Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Governor Asa Hutchinson defended the decision to delay a lockdown at a press conference on Friday, saying: ‘I think you see it day-in and day-out that it’s a good approach for Arkansas.’
‘As I look as those numbers, it seems like we are doing at least as well as any other state,’ said Dr. Nate Smith with the Arkansas Department of Health. ‘So, there doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason to do a ‘stay at home’ order here in Arkansas.’
Arkansas, which has 743 confirmed cases and 12 deaths, has a higher rate of cases per capita than many of the major urban hotspots.
At least two other states had counties that showed increases in travel for retail and recreation since the pandemic began.
In Kansas, Cherokee and Brown counties were up by single digits, and in Tennessee, Cannon County was up a shocking 34 percent.
In Tennessee, Pastor Billy Kennedy offers hugs to other parishioners before Global Vision Bible Church holds services in the church parking lot on March 29 in Mount Juliet
A resident is removed from the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing in Tennessee on Monday. The state finally went into lockdown on Thursday
Cannon County, Tennessee showed a shocking 34 percent increase in travel for retail and recreation during the pandemic
The central Tennessee county is largely rural, with a total population of about 14,600.
Tennessee was among the few holdouts in issuing statewide stay-at-home orders, and Governor Bill Lee said that his decision to issue the lockdown on Thursday was influenced by cell phone location data showing people were still going out in rural parts of the state.
‘We clearly saw data in the last two or three days that changed the movement of Tennesseans, and that was very worrisome and it was also very dangerous,’ Lee said. ‘It’s hard to know why that has happened. We just know that it has.’
Google’s location data only goes through March 29, and does not cover the time period after Tennessee issued its stay at home order.
Overall, Tennessee’s outdoor movement for retail and recreation was down just 35 percent, compared to the national average of 47 percent.
This map from the University of Chicago highlights in red the country’s hotspots by cases per capita, with the solid red circles located outside of the largest urban epicenters
At a press conference on Thursday, Governor Lee chastised Tennesseans and demanded that they stop moving so freely.
‘We need you to understand that home isn’t an option,’ he said. ‘It’s a requirement for the swift defeat of COVID-19.’
When it comes to traveling to the workplace, Nebraska and North Dakota have seen the smallest decline, with both down only 24 percent versus the national average of 38 percent.
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said Thursday he is confident that his statewide order to limit gatherings to 10 people is sufficient to address the outbreak.
‘Physical distancing is working. Shelter-in-place is not needed,’ Ricketts said. Nebraska has 321 confirmed cases and six deaths.
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said Thursday he is confident that his statewide order to limit gatherings to 10 people is sufficient to address the outbreak
The location information is gathered from Google Maps or the search giant’s other services but no personal details, such as an individual’s location, contacts or movement, is disclosed.
Google plans to update the reports regularly, with a lag of two to three days.
The reports chart whether more or less people are going to shops, parks, pharmacies, subway stations and offices.
The company said it has heard from health officials who say the readings could be helpful for making critical decisions on how to fight the virus.
For example, ‘persistent visits to transportation hubs might indicate the need to add additional buses or trains in order to allow people who need to travel room to spread out for social distancing,’ Google said.