An interactive map has Morgan County as one of the worst counties in the state for social distancing in the state. Unacast, an international company based in Norway that tracks human mobility data for private businesses, began tracking social distancing data at local levels to help local officials track whether the initiatives are working to stop COVID-19. Unacast graded Morgan County a D- with its last round of grades on Friday. The grade went up to a C- after new grades were issued yesterday.
Morgan County Emergency Management Coordinator Phil McCarty says there’s a clear division in people who are taking social distancing seriously. “I would say that there are several groups of people in the county – classify them however you want. There are some that are following the line, social distancing every day. Then, there’s another group that’s in the middle of it that are doing alright. Then, there’s the other group that is just ignoring the situation. This situation is very uncomfortable. We’re a very social society. In the rural environment, we’re very social but we all need to be uncomfortable right now to be safe.”
According to the Unacast data, Morgan County residents have been making about 55% of non-essential visits to area locations and between 25-40% of residents in the county show some form of mobility despite the stay at home order.
Grades for other area counties are Brown, Greene, and Scott with a C; Cass, Pike, and Schuyler with a D, and Macoupin with a D-. Governor J.B. Pritzker’s shelter in place order is currently set to expire on April 30th.