The residents in many states are taking the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to heart that social distancing can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But others have eased up on how well they social distance from others, according to a survey conducted by TOP Data.

TOP Data’s study analyzed mobile data to determine the number of daily close human interactions a person had that lasted longer than five minutes compared to the number interactions that occurred in 2019, which set the baseline for normalcy.

States such as California, Nevada, and Illinois are performing social distancing the best with the percentage of normal interactions at 22.5%, 25.9%, and 32.5%, respectively. Following behind the three states are Arizona, Washington, and Oregon at 33.3%, 35.1%, and 38.5%. New York came in seventh best for social distancing at 39.2% of normal interactions, according to the study’s data.

States that were the worst at social distancing, according to TOPS Data, are South Dakota, Alabama, and North Dakota at 87.6%, 82.1%, and 81.1% of normal interactions, respectively. The study also indicated that the states of Nebraska, Mississippi, and Arkansas have eased up on social distancing measures with states such as Missouri, Rhode Island, and Minnesota in the mid-range of the total percentage of interactions.

Florida, which has seen a recent surge in coronavirus cases, also had a mid-range level of interactions at 47.6% and Texas, another state with a growing number coronavirus cases, was at 47.2% of normal interactions.

The U.S. has reported over 5 million positive cases of the coronavirus, with over 163,000 COVID-19 deaths as of Tuesday mid-morning, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Social distancing measures are still in place in many countries even as governments look to restart economies
Social distancing measures are still in place in many countries even as governments look to restart economies AFP / Daniel SLIM
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