Feverish Illness - A Barometer of Social Distancing Effectiveness?

Kinsa is a company that produces internet-connected thermometers, and they have created a map of the United States that overlays 3 data sets (one of which is pictured below):

• Cumulative Atypical Illness: displays how much influenza-like illness above the normal expected levels have been detected
• 7-Day Trend in Illness: 7-day rolling average that shows whether illness has been increasing or decreasing
• Observed Illness: an index of how severely a population is being affected by influenza-like illness

As of March 24, 2020, they report that feverish illnesses were declining in many regions but were also clear in stating that this does not mean COVID-19 cases are declining. Obviously, actual and confirmed cases are expected to lag behind interventions such as social distancing. A related article provides more information about trends in the data. Positive news perhaps? Hopefully so. In any case, social distancing requires adherence and persistence to work so let’s keep it up America!