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Texas social distancing score improves to C-, Jefferson Co. up as well

Using anonymous cell phone data, Unacast tracks mobility nationwide, comparing the amount of movement before the pandemic and movement now.

BEAUMONT, Texas — As Southeast Texas tighten restrictions on day-to-day life, technology is outing those who disobey stay-at-home orders.

A data-science company called Unacast has developed a Social Distancing Scoreboard.

Using anonymous cell phone data, Unacast tracks mobility nationwide, comparing the amount of movement before the pandemic and movement now.

Using evidence of how much our daily habits have changed, it can rank communities based on how well it is following guidelines.

As of 2 p.m. Monday, Texas earns a C-minus grade, up from a D-minus Saturday. Jefferson Co. also improved from a D to a C-minus. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Texas improves to a C-; up from a D- over the weekend
  • Jefferson Co. improves to a C- as well
  • Liberty Co. improves from a F to a D-

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Orange, Hardin and Jasper County all remained at a D-minus. Newton and Tyler Co. also remained at a D.

Chambers Co. earned a F with no improvement noted by Unacast. Liberty Co. improved from a F grade to a D-minus

“Our goal in developing this and our COVID-19 Toolkit is to empower organizations to unearth reliable and valuable information to guide critical decision making and planning in relation to COVID-19 containment,” said Thomas Walle, CEO and Co-founder at Unacast. “We are updating the Scorecard and enhancing this COVID-19 Toolkit to provide the most timely and accurate information possible, with the hope of ultimately saving lives.”

There are similar tools popping up online — like Google's Community Mobility Report — which tracks visits to parks and grocery stores.

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