NEW social media data has shown 22 up and coming hot spots across eight states that are all considering lifting restrictions.
Spikes in people talking about cases on social media has been found to reliably pick up emerging hot spots almost two weeks before coronavirus infection rates officially explode in that area.
The firm Dataminr identified the areas based on clusters of public social media posts that directly referenced, among other things, firsthand accounts of symptoms, relatives who have been infected and testing supply shortages.
The study looked for posts related to coronavirus in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, all of which are considering lifting lockdown.
They found eight counties within major cities of 1 million residents or more that are seeing spikes after social media chatter, as well as 22 rural areas.
The findings align with CDC warnings that COVID-19 symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
All 22 upcoming hot spots have officially seen few cases but there is a steep increase in the number of social media posts related to COVID-19 compared with official counts up to April 21.
The study areas each have up to over a million residents, like Fulton County, which includes the state capital Atlanta.
The analysis of the increased social media chatter suggests the 22 areas are emerging coronavirus hotspots. The study is reinforced by a nationwide study last month that correctly predicted 14 states where COVID-19 infections would spike within two weeks.
All 22 areas in the study either partially lifted, or didn’t have, lockdown measures related to coronavirus.
In the week since the study concluded, figures independent from the analysis show that infections have already spiked in many of the 22 areas.
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Source: The Sun
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