A tech company is grading how states and counties are abiding by social distancing guidelines, with Mississippi and Webster County receiving low marks. Unacast, a location data company, is providing data to governments, institutions and organizations to understand the effectiveness of social distancing and if it has improved before COVID-19 to now. The information is based on statistics from cellphone movements. According to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, social distancing is currently the most effective way to slow the spread of COVID-19. Unacast has develop a Social Distancing Scoreboard for each state, which is then broken down into counties, to compare communities’ social distancing activity and if people are abiding by the social distancing guidelines. Based upon human mobility data last updated Tuesday on unacast.com, Mississippi currently has an F grade. Webster County, which had 22 confirmed cases as of Monday, currently has a D grade. The county received F grades for reduction in average mobility (based on distance traveled) and reduction in non-essential visit and a B for decrease in “encounters density” compared to the national baseline. Overall rankings for surrounding counties as of Tuesday: Calhoun, D; Chickasaw, D-; Choctaw, C; Clay, F; Grenada, F; Montgomery, D; and Oktibbeha, F .
