{"id":39856,"date":"2020-09-09T12:04:52","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T16:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=39856"},"modified":"2020-09-09T12:04:52","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T16:04:52","slug":"phone-data-show-stay-home-distancing-order-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=39856","title":{"rendered":"Phone Data Show Stay-Home, Distancing Order Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"
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9 Sept. 2020. Anonymous data collected from millions of mobile phones last spring show stay-at-home and social distancing orders helped slow the spread of Covid-19 in the U.S. Findings from the study by researchers at University of Wisconsin in Madison appear in yesterday’s issue of JAMA Network Open<\/em><\/a>, published by American Medical Association.<\/p>\n

A team from UW’s Geospatial Data Science Lab<\/a> analyzed data collected from more than 45 million smartphones and related mobile devices in March and April 2020, early in the U.S. pandemic, when some stay-at-home and social distancing mandates went into effect. The lab, led by geographic information scientist Song Gao<\/a>, applies big data analytics to environmental and health issues related to geography.<\/p>\n

In this study, Gao and colleagues used de-identified data from more than 45 million mobile phones, collected from 11 March to 10 April by commercial data research company SafeGraph<\/a>. The researchers also accessed mobility data from the geospatial analytics service Descartes Labs<\/a>, and geographic Covid-19 case data provided by Corona Data Scraper<\/a>, an open-source service. The UW team looked primarily for associations of state-by-state rates of Covid-19 infections with changes in travel distances and time people stayed at home. In addition, the researchers measured the amount of time it took for Covid-19 case counts to double in a state, as a measure of disease spread.<\/p>\n

The team found travel distances by phone users dropped sharply and home dwelling time increased across the U.S. after stay-at-home orders went into effect, particularly in states affected earlier in the pandemic, where those orders also went into effect earlier. Their analysis revealed those stay-at-home and social distancing orders are also associated with reduced spread of Covid-19 infections. Before the orders in some states, the median time for Covid-19 cases to double ranged from one to seven days. But after the orders went into effect, the median amount of time needed for case counts to double increased to a range of four to 30 days.<\/p>\n

The researchers say the data show “stay-at-home social distancing mandates, when they were followed by measurable mobility changes, were associated with reduction in Covid-19 case rates.” And the authors conclude, “The findings come at a particularly critical period, when U.S. states are beginning to reopen their economies but Covid-19 cases are surging. At such a time, our study suggests the efficacy of stay-at-home social distancing measures and could inform future public health policy making.”<\/p>\n

Using similar data, the Geospatial Data Science Lab provides an interactive map<\/a> of the U.S., showing state and county-level mobility and home-dwelling time in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

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