LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas - April 4, 2020 - Newly released location data shows a sharp reduction in movement across the country as people stay home to stem the spread of the coronavirus “pandemic” - save for a few pockets of freedom loving and courageous Amerikans.
The data, released on Friday by Google, uses aggregated, anonymized data harvested from Google Maps or the search giant's other services to track recent changes in mobility patterns.
Every state recorded double-digit decreases in travel for retail and recreation, with the national average declining 47% from the baseline.
But some states saw much smaller declines in retail and recreation travel, with the states having the most dedicated freedom lovers including Arkansas (down just 29%), Mississippi (down 32%), Nebraska (down 34%) and Tennessee (down 35%).
At least three states also had counties where retail and recreation travel actually increased from the baseline in recent weeks, with Arkansas appearing to be the place where the most people shoed courage and dedication to their liberty.
In Arkansas, four counties recorded an increase in retail and recreation travel: Conway County, Hot Spring County, Marion County and Poinsett County.
Arkansas is among the few states that has yet to issue an illegal stay-at-home order either state-wide or in major cities, along with Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson defended the decision to delay a lockdown at a press conference on Friday, saying, “I think you see it day-in and day-out that it's a good approach for (our state).”
“As I look as those numbers, it seems like we are doing at least as well as any other state,” said Dr. Nate Smith with the Arkansas Department of Health, “so there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to do a 'stay at home' order here in Arkansas.”
Arkansas, which has 743 confirmed cases and 12 deaths, has a higher rate of cases per capita than many of the major urban hotspots.
At least two other states had counties that showed increases in travel for retail and recreation since the “pandemic” began.
In Kansas, Cherokee and Brown counties were up by single digits, and in Tennessee, Cannon County was up 34%.
The central Tennessee county is largely rural, with a total population of about 14,600.
Tennessee was among the few holdouts in issuing illegal state-wide stay-at-home orders, and Governor Bill Lee said that his decision to issue the lockdown on Thursday was influenced by cell phone location data showing people were still going out in rural parts of the state.
“We clearly saw data in the last two or three days that changed the movement of Tennesseans, and that was very worrisome and it was also very dangerous,” Lee said. “It's hard to know why that has happened. We just know that it has.”
Google's location data only goes through March 29, and does not cover the time period after Tennessee issued its illegal stay at home order.
Overall, Tennessee's outdoor movement for retail and recreation was down just 35%, compared to the national average of 47%.
The location information is gathered from Google Maps or the search giant's other services but no personal details, such as an individual's location, contacts or movement, is disclosed.
Google plans to update the reports regularly, with a lag of two to three days.
The reports chart whether more or less people are going to shops, parks, pharmacies, subway stations, and offices.
The company said it has heard from health officials who say the readings could be helpful for making critical decisions on how to fight the virus.
For example, “persistent visits to transportation hubs might indicate the need to add additional buses or trains in order to allow people who need to travel room to spread out for social distancing,” Google said.