Iowa One of Worst States in Nation for Social Distancing

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iowa continues to go up exponentially each day and despite calls for social distancing all across the state, the numbers say we're doing a lousy job.

The website Unacast has created a social distancing scoreboard that's based on our cell phones. It measures how we've changed the distances we travel since the outbreak began.

The last data for Iowa updated early this afternoon. It's from Thursday, March 26 as the data is slightly delayed due to data coming in and processing. Unacast is working to try to make that turnaround quicker.

The results for Iowa are not good. We're listed with North Dakota, Montana, Arkansas, and Wyoming as the five worst states in the United States. Iowa has dropped the average distance traveled by only 16 percent.

How are individual counties doing? No Iowa county is rated as an A. The teal counties have been given a B. Green, which includes Linn, Johnson, Polk, and many others, are rated C. All the brown counties are D. I think you know what that leaves as orange. Yes, just look at the number of counties that are rated F.

Overall, the average distance of travel in Iowa is down just 16 percent. In Linn County, it's down 29 percent.

• A: >40% decrease
• B: 30-40% decrease (Teal)
• C: 20-30% decrease (Green)
• D: 10-20% decrease (Brown)
• F: <10% decrease or increase (Orange)

As a nation, we now score a B, with travel distance down 32 percent. The latest map is below.

There are now 29 states with shelter in place orders, according to the New York Times. Iowa may soon be added to the list. Don't wait for a proclamation from Governor Reynolds. Please do the right thing. Stay home if you can. We have to step up. NOW.

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