Expert Survey: Jails and Bars Riskiest for Covid Infection

CHICAGO - Aug. 11, 2020 - PRLog -- Jails and bars tied as riskiest spots to contract Covid, according to a survey of epidemiologists conducted this month by the nonprofit journalism center CivicMeter.

Epidemiologists from 27 universities participated in the survey, representing some of the largest epidemiology departments in the country and broadest panels conduct thus far.

"I think a bar is the most unsafe place, and that's after having worked at a lot of prisons and jails," said one infectious disease expert from Emory University who specializes in prison health systems.

"I think in theory it's possible for jails and prisons to be fairly safe, if they have adequate resources for screening individuals coming in (and there are some jails that do); they can be safer than a bar."

Nursing homes, churches and indoor restaurants were also ranked as highly dangerous.

The safest venues? Outdoor gatherings, hotels and outdoor restaurant seating, according to our expert ratings.

CivicMeter also asked experts where they would -- and wouldn't -- be comfortable traveling this summer and fall.

Experts were mixed on their comfort levels traveling: Most experts (13 out of 27) said they wouldn't travel at all. Some were comfortable traveling to states like Maine or Idaho (4 votes each).

A clear consensus emerged around states to avoid: Florida (18 votes), Texas (16 votes) and Arizona (12 votes) topped the experts no-go list.

CivicMeter asked the experts to rate their trust in COVID-19 data produced by various countries, including the U.S.

Most experts agreed that South Korea (7.81 out of 10 trust rating) and Germany (7.48) were producing the most trustworthy data.

Similarly, the collective opinion about the least reliable sources of Covid information found that Russia (2.19 out of 10 trust rating), Iran (2.85) and Brazil (3.07) produced the most distorted national disease numbers.

"It is understandable that scientists wouldn't trust data out of Brazil or Russia", said a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics from Drexel University. "Both have authoritarian regimes who have denied that COVID-19 is a substantial health risk."

"Countries that are highly ranked also seem to be those countries that implemented robust testing and contact tracing programs and were able to get their epidemics under control (South Korea, Germany)", observed a professor of epidemiology from the University of Minnesota.

View the full survey results here:

https://civicmeter.com/full-results-covid-19-survey-of-epidemiologists-on-reopening-risks-and-data-quality/

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ABOUT CIVICMETER:

CivicMeter is a nonprofit journalism center focusing on data and measurement in government and public policy. Our work has appeared in or been cited by NPR, Political Wire, New York magazine, Pioneer Press, MSN Online, and other local papers.