A recent report from TopData analyzed North Texans’ cellphone data and found most people usually experienced about six social interactions outside their home daily during the region’s recent COVID-19 surge.
“It’s not walking by someone at the mall and just passing quickly,” Ben Kaplan, TopData’s CEO, told KTVT. “It’s the extended interaction, which is really what is most at risk for COVID-19 transmission.”
As phase three of the state’s reopening began, North Texans began interacting socially at 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, up from just 20 percent during the beginning of the pandemic.
“While you have that virus, for a week or two, its whole goal is to jump to somebody else and that’s exactly what it’s doing,” David Winter, MD, a physician with Baylor Scott and White Health, told KTVT. “We need to limit our contact with folks.”
More articles on data analytics:
5 things to know about this private coronavirus data website for global agencies
Western Michigan University plugs state COVID-19 data gap, starts archive
5 key considerations Mass General Brigham took when developing its racial disparity-focused COVID-19 dashboard
