The numbers vary greatly by geography. People in some counties appear to barely leave their homes, especially in large metro areas, including hard-hit New York, Detroit and Chicago. People in areas that are less populated tend to leave a bit more, and residents in at least one very rural county in Arizona are approaching the amount of free-roaming time they enjoyed in early March.
Just because people are leaving their homes more doesn’t mean they’re flouting stay-at-home orders or that they’ve abandoned social distancing. They simply may be enjoying warmer weather outdoors, especially in places such as the Upper Midwest, which had an unseasonable April cold snap.
Pings from phones within businesses and recreational areas show where people are — and aren’t — showing up. They’re going to parks and grocery stores, according to Google data, which tracks users via their Google Accounts and compares their locations to a baseline from before stay-at-home orders were in place.
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