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

By Chris Stokel-Walker

5 August 2021

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

People in New York City wearing protective masks during the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

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 and his colleagues in Italy and…

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