Mapping County-Level Mobility Pattern Changes in the United States in Response to COVID-19

Abstract

To contain the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the non-pharmacological epidemic control measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak is reducing the transmission rate of SARS-COV-2 in the population through (physical) social distancing. An interactive web-based mapping platform that provides timely quantitative information on how people in different counties and states reacted to the social distancing guidelines was developed with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The web portal integrates geographic information systems (GIS) and daily updated human mobility statistical patterns derived from large-scale anonymized and aggregated smartphone location big data at the county-level in United States. It aims to increase risk awareness of the public, support governmental decision-making, and help enhance community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.