Human Mobility Restrictions and COVID-19 Infection Rates: Analysis of Mobility Data and Coronavirus Spread in Poland and Portugal

Artur Strzelecki (), Ana Azevedo, Mariia Rizun, Paulina Rutecka, Kacper Zagała, Karina Cicha and Alexandra Albuquerque
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Artur Strzelecki: Department of Informatics, University of Economics in Katowice, 40-287 Katowice, Poland
Ana Azevedo: CEOS.PP, Porto Accounting and Business School, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Mariia Rizun: Department of Informatics, University of Economics in Katowice, 40-287 Katowice, Poland
Paulina Rutecka: Department of Informatics, University of Economics in Katowice, 40-287 Katowice, Poland
Kacper Zagała: Department of Informatics, University of Economics in Katowice, 40-287 Katowice, Poland
Karina Cicha: Department of Communication Design and Analysis, University of Economics in Katowice, 40-287 Katowice, Poland
Alexandra Albuquerque: CEOS.PP, Porto Accounting and Business School, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-25

Abstract: This study examines the possibility of correlation between the data on human mobility restrictions and the COVID-19 infection rates in two European countries: Poland and Portugal. The aim of this study is to verify the correlation and causation between mobility changes and the infection spread as well as to investigate the impact of the introduced restrictions on changes in human mobility. The data were obtained from Google Community Mobility Reports, Apple Mobility Trends Reports, and The Humanitarian Data Exchange along with other reports published online. All the data were organized in one dataset, and three groups of variables were distinguished: restrictions, mobility, and intensity of the disease. The causal-comparative research design method is used for this study. The results show that in both countries the state restrictions reduced human mobility, with the strongest impact in places related to retail and recreation, grocery, pharmacy, and transit stations. At the same time, the data show that the increase in restrictions had strong positive correlation with stays in residential places both in Poland and Portugal.

Keywords: COVID-19; human mobility; state restrictions; lockdown; population behavior; coronavirus infection rates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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