Masking for a Friend
It's no secret that Americans are responding to the COVID-19 outbreak in different ways — some wearing masks, others flat-out refusing, some engaging in strict social distancing and others … well, not so much. New data from Google paints a fuller picture of just how widely our nation's response to the pandemic varies state by state. While in some places residents are stepping up efforts to avoid everything from retail and recreation to transit stations and grocery stores, in other states people are back to gathering in large groups. If there's one consistent thread, it's that people are flocking to outdoor places such as national parks, public gardens, and beaches (no surprise in the summer) and being more cautious elsewhere.
Here's a state-by-state look at the percentage change in visits to public places. Figures were found by comparing how people with location-based Google software behaved in the five weeks from Jan. 3 to Feb. 6, before the coronavirus pandemic, to their behavior in the two or three days leading up to Aug. 9..