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Analysis of mobility data to build contact networks for COVID-19

Journal Article · · PLoS ONE
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As social distancing policies and recommendations went into effect in response to COVID-19, people made rapid changes to the places they visit. These changes are clearly seen in mobility data, which records foot traffic using location trackers in cell phones. While mobility data is often used to extract the number of customers that visit a particular business or business type, it is the frequency and duration of concurrent occupancy at those sites that governs transmission. Understanding the way people interact at different locations can help target policies and inform contact tracing and prevention strategies. This paper outlines methods to extract interactions from mobility data and build networks that can be used in epidemiological models. Several measures of interaction are extracted: interactions between people, the cumulative interactions for a single person, and cumulative interactions that occur at particular businesses. Network metrics are computed to identify structural trends which show clear changes based on the timing of stay-at-home orders. Measures of interaction and structural trends in the resulting networks can be used to better understand potential spreading events, the percent of interactions that can be classified as close contacts, and the impact of policy choices to control transmission.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1777600
Journal Information:
PLoS ONE, Journal Name: PLoS ONE Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 16; ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (7)

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Network model and analysis of the spread of Covid-19 with social distancing journal December 2020
Social distancing responses to COVID-19 emergency declarations strongly differentiated by income journal July 2020
COVID-19 lockdown induces disease-mitigating structural changes in mobility networks journal December 2020
Small-World Brain Networks Revisited journal September 2016
Timing of Community Mitigation and Changes in Reported COVID-19 and Community Mobility ― Four U.S. Metropolitan Areas, February 26–April 1, 2020 journal April 2020
Community and Close Contact Exposures Associated with COVID-19 Among Symptomatic Adults ≥18 Years in 11 Outpatient Health Care Facilities — United States, July 2020 journal September 2020

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