Coronavirus lockdown: Google data shows how far London and the rest of the UK are following the measures

Google's new location data highlights that Londoners are following social distancing measures fairly well, with 62 per cent fewer people in work and 80 per cent fewer at places of transport.

کد خبر: ۹۶۹۸۷۶

تاریخ: ۱۵ فروردين ۱۳۹۹ - ۱۹:۳۶

Across the UK, 75 per cent fewer people are at transport stations, while 85 per cent fewer are at public recreation places such as restaurants, cafes and movie theatres, following the Covid-19 lockdown measures.
he mobility report, which examines movement on 29 March, nearly a week after the Government introduced lockdown regulations, gives an indication into how places across the world are responding to social distancing rules.

Despite fears of overcrowded parks, the data showed that there are 54 per cent fewer in London parks and as a whole the country is using parks 52 per cent less too.

Fears around stockpiling and busy pharmacists have been an ongoing concern in the UK, but Google's data showed that 46 per cent fewer people in the UK are in pharmacies and supermarkets.
Rest of the world
The data also highlighted the impacts of introducing lockdown measures versus encouraging social distancing. Sweden has not introduced strict measures to curb people leaving their homes for example, and the result is that it has 18 per cent fewer people in work, 36 per cent less in transport stations and 24 per cent fewer citizens in recreational places.

As for Italy, which has experienced the worst death toll of any country, strict lockdown measures have resulted in 94 per cent fewer people in shops, restaurants and cafes, and in contrast to the UK, a huge decline in park use - 90 per cent less.

The United States did not see as big of a decline in public movements however, with 38 per cent fewer people in work, 47 per cent fewer in recreational places, and 51 per cent fewer in transport stations.
Privacy concerns

Critics have already raised concerns that this highlights a concerning level of tracking by Google, and the data highlights just how much of our personal data has been used to put it together. The tech company claims the report adheres to its "stringent privacy protocols while protecting people's privacy",

"No personally identifiable information, like an individual’s location, contacts or movement, is made available at any point," it states in the report.

"Insights in these reports are created with aggregated, anonymised sets of data from users who have turned on the location history setting, which is off by default. People who have location history turned on can choose to turn it off at any time from their Google account and can always delete location history data directly from their timeline."