New index shows who is best at social distancing; See how where you live ranks [View all]

[IronLionZion]

https://wjla.com/news/local/index-shows-best-social-distancing-arlington-dc-see-how-where-you-live-ranks

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Social distancing numbers compiled at the University of Maryland indicate D.C. residents are doing better at it than almost any state in the country, and Maryland is not far behind.

The numbers were compiled by the Maryland Transportation Institute, which is based at the university. They can be viewed here.

Using privacy-protected data from cell phones along with information from the government and healthcare industry, researchers are giving a “social distancing index” score to every state and county in the U.S. Essentially, a score of zero represents no social distancing, 100 is perfect social distancing.

As of Tuesday, Hawaii and New York led the nation with scores of 73, followed by New Jersey with 72, and then D.C. with 71.

After Michigan with 67, Maryland was next with a score of 66. Meanwhile, Virginia was tied for 19th in the country with a score of 58, while West Virginia was tied for 34th with a score of 53.

The social distancing index is based on data such as the percentage of people who are staying at home, how many trips they are making, and the average distance a person travels.

I was nervous about living in downtown DC because there are people everywhere. But DC is doing relatively well with social distancing. Mayor Bowser has shown strong decisive leadership on this issue to keep us safe. Masks are mandatory for grocery stores. Police have thrown out people for sitting on a park bench reading, we have to keep moving or stay home. Homelessness is still an outstanding issue. And there is an increase in aggressive panhandling and some property crimes.

Plus with the offices and tourist areas closed, there are fewer people around downtown than normal. Residential areas would likely have an increase in people staying home. I'm feeling less anxiety now than a few weeks back. I've found good routes to get my social distance walks in and good small local stores to avoid the big crowded grocery stores that are just plain dangerous.