Big data insight on global mobility during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown

Sadowski, Adam; Galar, Zbigniew; Walasek, Robert; Zimon, Grzegorz; Engelseth, Per

The Covid-19 pandemic that began in the city of Wuhan in China has caused a huge number of deaths worldwide. Countries have introduced spatial restrictions on movement and social distancing in response to the rapid rate of SARS-Cov-2 transmission among its populations. Research originality lies in the taken global perspective revealing indication of significant relationships between changes in mobility and the number of Covid-19 cases. The study uncovers a time offset between the two applied databases, Google Mobility and John Hopkins University, influencing correlations between mobility and pandemic development. Analyses reveals a link between the introduction of lockdown and the number of new Covid-19 cases. Types of mobility with the most significant impact on the development of the pandemic are “retail and recreation areas", "transit stations", "workplaces" "groceries and pharmacies”. The difference in the correlation between the lockdown introduced and the number of SARS-COV-2 cases is 81%, when using a 14-day weighted average compared to the 7-day average. Moreover, the study reveals a strong geographical diversity in human mobility and its impact on the number of new Covid-19 cases.