How Montgomery County Compares To America In Social Distancing

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — A new study analyzes cell mobility data to determine how well residents in Montgomery County and across America are social distancing.

The business and marketing insight firm Top Data measured the total number of interactions and how that rate has increased or decreased over the past month. For the purposes of the study, "interactions" are defined as any close contact between two or more people that lasts more than five minutes.

Montgomery County has seen its interactions decrease by 1.07 percent, according to the study. The average number of interactions per resident for the month of August is 2.77.

The number is similar to nearby counties:

• Bucks - 1.20 percent decrease, 2.47 interactions
• Delaware - 1.55 percent decrease, 2.62 interactions
• Philadelphia - 1.92 percent decrease, 3.18 interactions
• Chester - 2.90 percent decrease, 2.01 interactions

The only true outlier there is Chester County, which saw a significantly sharper decrease in interactions per person, at 2.90 percent, than Montgomery County and the rest of the five-county area.

>>Just 7 COVID Deaths In Montgomery Co. The Past Month: Officials

A similar analysis launched back at the start of the pandemic in late March by Unacast, a New York City and Norway-based company, also found positive results for Montgomery County. In that study, Montgomery County earned an "A" for its early distancing efforts.

In recent statements, Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh has praised local residents and businesses for their cooperation, noting that it's been crucial to keeping the county's percent positivity rate on tests so low.

“Montgomery County’s 14-day positivity rate has been under 5% since June 18 and continues to trend slowly downward," she said in a statement this week. "This is great news but not a reason to let up on masking, social distancing, hand hygiene, testing, and contact tracing."

As a whole, Pennsylvania has remained somewhat steady over the past month, with a relatively minor increase of 3 percent in total interactions.

Nationally, the panhandle of Northwest Florida saw the most dramatic decrease in interactions in August, with three area counties, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay, among the top 10 nationally. Arkansas was the state with the highest increase in social interactions, with a 14 percent rise.

To see the full Top Data study and learn more, see here.