How well are Whatcom residents doing at staying home during coronavirus pandemic?
A week after Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order went into effect across Washington state, Whatcom County is receiving a passing grade for its social distancing and staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic — but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
New York technology company Unacast last week launched a Social Distancing Scoreboard that compares how much people in each county in the United States travel each day before and after the coronavirus outbreak.
The scorecard is built off smartphone data that covers about 5% to 15% of people in each county in the United States. The scorecard also weighed where people were going to determine whether they were making essential or non-essential trips.
Whatcom County received a “B” for its social distancing — slightly above average and better than the “C” the entire state of Washington received.
Whatcom County got a “C” for its change in average mobility based on distance traveled — meaning residents decreased their average mobility but just 40% to 55%. Meanwhile, the county got an “A” for change in non-essential visits — meaning residents have decreased that metric by at least 70%.
Both averages have decreased since the first Whatcom County resident tested positive for COVID-19 on March 10 and have continued to trend downward since the governor announced his order to stay home on March 20, the scorecard showed.
Whatcom County ranked sixth overall, behind King (A-), Skagit (A-), Chelan (B), Grays Harbor (B) and Kitsap (B), according to the scorecard.
That seems to follow the number of cars that law enforcement reports seeing on the road.
“It’d definitely down, but not as much as you’d think it would be,” Trooper Heather Axtman told The Bellingham Herald.
The Bellingham Police Department on Tuesday announced it will take more of an educational role than enforce the governor’s order — helping people understand the importance of good social distancing practices and staying home.
As of Wednesday at noon, the Whatcom County Health Department reported 144 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, eight of which have died.
