AlphaBet Ink’s website Google has published charts that show how the Corona virus hit Italy and made life stagnant there.
According to a report published in the Dawn newspaper, the analysis of Google users’ phone location data is by far the largest available public data aimed at helping authorities assess whether the public is confined to homes and protected from viruses. Other measures are followed.
The company released a report on shopping and leisure activities, trains and buses, home goods shops and workplace traffic, including charts, from 5 weeks to 16th March to 29th in 131 countries.
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Google said that it published the report to avoid concerns about what content was being provided to authorities, but that it needed to balance privacy with the need to prevent future outbreaks in relation to location tracking. A global debate has begun.
Italy and Spain are the two countries most affected by the virus The drop in the number of people visiting shops and entertainment venues such as restaurants and cinemas in both countries has dropped by 94%.
On the other hand, the decline was 80% in the UK, France and the Philippines.
Social distance measures in the United States and Australia saw a 50% drop in people arrivals at such locations.
In contrast, in Sweden and Japan, where authorities did not impose strict restrictions, arrivals at shops and leisure sites decreased by only a quarter.
Similarly, South Korea, which has successfully overcome the outbreak by aggressively testing and detecting virus contacts, saw a decrease of only 19%.
The data also describes the challenges that the authorities are facing to keep the public afloat.
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On the other hand, there has been an increase in the influx of people to domestic goods stores in Singapore, the UK and other places where travel is now banned.
Parks in some counties in the San Francisco Bay Area witnessed an increase in arrivals during a lockdown in northern California.
Balance of privacy
The data included in the Google report was obtained on the mobile phone with the help of Google’s ‘Location History’ feature.
The company said it took technical measures to ensure that no person was identified with the report.
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“The report is designed to help with privacy protocols and policies,” said Google’s chief health officer, Dr. Karen de Salvo.
Infectious disease experts say analyzing travel, income and other data for people of different ages helps make announcements to the public.