Wyoming Receives an ‘F’ for Social Distancing

New research from a data firm used an interactive map to compile data and statistics on how each state and county in the U.S. is at their social distancing practices. Wyoming turned out to be the only state in the nation with a grade of an 'F'.

A company known as Unacast developed a tool known as a Social Distancing Scoreboard that was built with the hopes of helping "governments, institutions, and organizations fighting the virus to understand efficacy of social distancing initiatives".

The latest results that were released on March 22nd gave Wyoming the failing grade. When broken down by county, some did much better than others. Teton, Park, Goshen, and Washakie all received As. Lincoln County was given a B, Fremont Country received a C, while Natrona Country and Cambell county both received Ds. The rest of the counties in the state, including Laramie, received an F.

As for nearby states, Colorado received a B, Utah and Nebraska each earned a C, and Montana and Idaho were each given a D.

Unacast's map used cellphone positioning (by using certain apps in smartphones), along with number of reported cases in each county to help determine the grades. Other metrics of extreme importance in the research were those who were sheltering in place and also measured distances of travel.

The results are ongoing as more and more data comes in each week. However, it is important to note that in rural states, such as Wyoming, certain data can be flawed due to long drives that may be needed to purchase essential items.

As of Wednesday evening (March 26th), there are currently 44 confirmed cased of Covid-19 in Wyoming.