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Muskogee Emergency Management Director Tyler Evans said data collected by the company can be used to show “where large crowds gather” and “how busy a certain business is.” The data, which historically has been used for business applications, also is used to identify areas “where there might be congestion.”
“This data is able to show communities can respond to COVID-19,” Evans said, noting room for improvement locally. It shows “how they responded to CDC guidelines, how they responded to the governor’s executive order for safer at home, and the resolution adopted city and county also directing residents to stay at home.”
Unacast’s Social Distancing Scorecard assigns a letter grade of A through F to all states and counties based upon a comparison of human mobility data collected before the COVID-19 pandemic to present-day data. Areas where a decrease of at least a 40% in average distance traveled was observed were assigned a grade of A, while those that exhibit less than 10% decrease — or an increase — were assigned an F.
The letter grades are then compared to the number of new COVID-19 cases reported in those areas along with significant points during the pandemic to help users draw conclusions between social distancing behavior and how the virus spread over time. Unacast plans to include additional features to the Social Distancing Scoreboard and new features to its COVID-19 toolkit.
“It is not good news for Oklahoma or people in Muskogee County,” Evans said. “Oklahoma has a D, and Muskogee County has an F in responding to the guidelines.”
Unacast’s scorecard data show area residents may be growing restless and venturing out more. Its scorecard shows Wagoner County slipped from a D-minus to an F from Monday to Tuesday, and Cherokee County slipped from a D-plus to a D during the same time period — McIntosh County’s grade slipped to a D-minus.
Evans said while the number of COVID-19 cases in Muskogee County appeared to have plateaued before climbing to 25 on Tuesday, he believes local totals may be artificially low due to a lack of testing. He said it is important to remember the projected peak for COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma will not arrive until April 30.
“It only takes one sick person to infect multiple people,” Evans said. “Please follow the guidelines and the directives in place, and do your part to not only protect yourself but your family and your neighbors so we can get through this quickly and as safely as possible.”
Residents urged to do more to curb coronavirus spread
