Photo: AP
Where they refuse to stay home: Arkansas has four counties where people are going out MORE, while Tennessee and Nebraska are among states with the least change in outdoor movement, location data shows
- Google published data and shared with health officials to help fight coronavirus
- Uses aggregate cell phone data to show changes in population movement
- Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota show lower reductions in movement
- Four counties in Arkansas showed increases in travel for retail and recreation
- Tennessee and Kansas also had one county each where movement is up
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 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).