Google published today an extremely interesting report that shows us how the mobility of the population around the world, including Romania, has changed in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic, and the data is very interesting.
The coronavirus has reduced people's mobility by up to 90% from certain points of view, and this is because travel restrictions have been strictly imposed by the authorities in many cities, which has the effect of protecting all people.
Google presents in this page mobility statistics for various areas of the globe, so you can get an idea of how the Coronavirus has affected several areas of the globe.
"In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an emphasis on public health strategies, such as social distancing, to reduce the transmission rate of the virus. Google Maps uses aggregated, anonymous data that shows how crowded certain places are. This way traffic jams or times when certain public spaces (restaurants, museums, etc.) are crowded can be identified. Health officials believe that this type of data, aggregated and anonymous, can be useful for making critical decisions in the fight against COVID-19.
Starting today, Google is publishing the first version of the COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports to provide data on changes in population mobility as a result of working from home, staying at home, and other targeted policies to flatten the curve of the pandemic. These reports help the authorities, and at the same time comply with Google's data privacy policies. The reports on population mobility are launched globally and cover 19 countries, including Romania. Address where this tool is found: https://www.google.com/covid131/mobility.
The reports use aggregated and anonymized data to highlight movement trends, over time and geographically, across different categories of places and activities, such as recreation, shopping and pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces and housing. These will show trends over several weeks, with the most recent data being the last 48-72 hours. The reports will show the percentage increase or decrease in the number of visits for a specific place, without showing the absolute number of visits. To protect privacy, no personally identifiable information such as an individual's location or movements will be available at any time.
For some countries, the reports will also provide detailed information at the regional level to meet such an urgent need for data. In the coming weeks, Google will add more countries and regions to the reporting list, so that these reports can help public health officials around the world who are working to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19.
Together with the resources that public health authorities already have, these reports can help in the decision-making process regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. How authorities can use the information from these reports: For example, the data can help officials notice changes in people's journeys, and based on that make recommendations about store opening hours or inform delivery services at home. Similarly, high traffic at transport stations may indicate that more means of transport are needed to avoid congestion and comply with social distancing rules. Last but not least, understanding not only where people travel, but also trends in destinations, can help officials design recommendations to protect public health and essential community needs.
Along with Community Mobility Reports, Google is working with epidemiologists to update, with aggregated and anonymized data, a dataset that can be used to understand the pandemic. Such data help researchers anticipate the evolution of the pandemic, plan urban infrastructure and transportation, understand population mobility, and better respond to conflicts and natural disasters."
