Social distancing scorecard: Which Washington counties rate the best — and worst?

The data collecting company Unacast recently gave each state a grade for its social-distancing initiatives during the coronavirus pandemic — and Washington got a “D.”

But some counties did better than others, according to Unacast’s data.

Social distancing is currently the most effective way to slow the spread of coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, the U.S. had more than 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases, which is the most of any country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The company scored each state individually by its change in average mobility — based on distance traveled, changes in non-essential visits and the difference in the number of human encounters. Unacast compiled the data in an interactive map, detailing each state’s and county’s social-distancing initiatives.

Washington had a 25% to 40% decrease in average mobility based on the distance people traveled (D), but non-essential visits decreased by less than 55%, putting Washington in the F category. But Washington did better than most of the country at limiting social encounters — there was a 74% to 82% decrease in “encounters density,” for a C grade, according to Unacast.

The five counties in Washington that did the best at decreasing their average mobility were San Juan (A-), Whitman (B), Jefferson (B), Ferry (B) and Pacific (B-).

The worst counties in Washington were Pierce, Thurston, Spokaneand Clark, all with an F. Garfield County was not given a grade by Unacast.

The U.S. as a whole was given a D- for its social-distancing initiatives, Unacast says. The state with the highest score — Nevada — received a C+. The state that received the worst grade was Rhode Island (F).

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 7:31 PM.