Google has unveiled the COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports in an effort to help public health officials understand how people are moving about in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The reports show location data from folks who have agreed to share their location history with Google in order to show places that are following instructions to shelter in place or not.
“As global communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasing emphasis on public health strategies, like social distancing measures, to slow the rate of transmission,” wrote Google Geo SVP Jen Fitzpatrick. “In Google Maps, we use aggregated, anonymized data showing how busy certain types of places are—helping identify when a local business tends to be the most crowded. We have heard from public health officials that this same type of aggregated, anonymized data could be helpful as they make critical decisions to combat COVID-19.”
The reports are available to all users in 131 countries, and in some regions, you can search for regional state and county data. Once a region is selected, Google will generate the report in a PDF form that’s easy to share with workers in the field, the company said.
The reports cover six categories, including retail and recreation (restaurants, museums, shopping centers, etc.), grocery and pharmacy, parks (including beaches, marinas, etc.), transit stations, workplaces and residences.
Mobility Report for Pakistan
According to Pakistan’s mobility report by Google, there is, thankfully, a considerable change in the mobility trend. Retail and Recreational areas have seen a 70% fall in visits since 16 Feb 2020. As far as other categories are concerned, Grocery and Pharmacy, Parks, Transit stations, and Workplaces have seen 55%, 45%, 62%, and 41% downfall, respectively.
Holistically speaking, this is by no means bad, but considering the situation even a 45% decrease in mobility in parks is extremely disappointing. People should avoid leaving the house unless it is absolutely necessary, and it is best to opt out of all recreactional activities.
On the contrary, the Residential areas have seen an 18 percent raise, which, according to the ongoing situation, is not exactly ideal.
