On the interplay of regional mobility, social connectedness and the spread of COVID-19 in Germany.

ABSTRACT: Since the primary mode of respiratory virus transmission is person-to-person interaction, we are required to reconsider physical interaction patterns to mitigate the number of people infected with COVID-19. While research has shown that non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) had an evident impact on national mobility patterns, we investigate the relative regional mobility behaviour to assess the effect of human movement on the spread of COVID-19. In particular, we explore the impact of human mobility and social connectivity derived from Facebook activities on the weekly rate of new infections in Germany between 3 March and 22 June 2020. Our results confirm that reduced social activity lowers the infection rate, accounting for regional and temporal patterns. The extent of social distancing,

SUBMITTER: Fritz C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8662283 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature