May 27, 2021

Impacts of Social Distancing Policies on Mobility and COVID-19 Case Growth in the US

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Keywords (Tags): non-pharm interventions, public health

• State-level emergency declarations early in the COVID-19 pandemic (early March 2020) were associated with a 10% reduction in time spent away from places of residence, according to an analysis of anonymized mobility data from opted-in Google users aggregated at the county level. Subsequent implementation of physical distancing policies and shelter-in-place mandates resulted in additional 25% and 29% reductions in mobility, respectively. Decreases in mobility were associated with reductions in COVID-19 case growth 2-4 weeks later.

Wellenius et al. (May 25, 2021). Impacts of Social Distancing Policies on Mobility and COVID-19 Case Growth in the US. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23404-5