People in US went out less as covid-19 death rates rose in their area

By Chris Stokel-Walker

Covid-19 lockdowns and the number of deaths in an area were the strongest influences on travel patterns during the pandemic, according to location data gathered from 837,000 people in the US over nine months.

Using data from a measurement app called Cuebiq, which tracked users using the global positioning system (GPS) signal on their phone for 16 hours a day between January and September 2020, Lorenzo Lucchini at the Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Italy …