Peoria Standard

Central Illinois is doing a good job with social distancing, according to GPS location data according to a report by 25 News.

An interactive dashboard was used to collect the data to inform people about social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unacast, a Norwegian-based tech company, developed the dashboard.

The dashboard ranks states and counties by how much the average distance traveled decreases, according to 25 News. 

A’s are given when travel is reduced by more than 40%; B’s for a 30-40% reduction; C’s for 20-30%; D’s for 10-20%; and F’s are handed out for reductions in travel of 10% or less. 

The state of Illinois earned an A overall for successful social distancing, according to 25 News.

Average distance traveled in Peoria County from Feb. 28 through March 21 decreased by nearly 39%, earning Peoria a B, according to 25 News. McLean County also earned a B, sharing the same reduction as Peoria.

Two counties earned A’s for social distancing--Woodford and Tazewel--with a drop of average distance traveled at 46% and 44% respectively. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order on March 21 that was initially due to expire April 7 but was extended through April 30. 

Dr. Deborah Birx, who is serving on the National Coronavirus Task Force, said during a White House briefing that Cook County is one of the communities health experts are watching. 

"We are concerned about certain counties that look like they are having a more rapid increase," she said. "Wayne County in Michigan and Cook County in Chicago."