Google is using location data from smartphones to help public health officials understand how people’s movements have changed in response to the global Coronavirus pandemic. In April we noted that Kenyans were almost always at home when the pandemic hit. Now, according to the report by Google, Kenyans are slowly going back to work.

Kenyans Going Back To Work

Image Courtesy wmrecruit

Kenyans have been under a curfew for the last few months with the recent extension seeing us at home for another 30 days. Thanks to Google’s Softwares, we are able to see and track the movement of Kenyans.

These reports show how visits and length of stay at different places change compared to a baseline. According to the report, Kenyans are now going back to work. Here’s what the movement looked like in March.

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There was a significant drop in people moving in and around the city. Transit stations recorded a -39% drop and workplaces a-22% drop. The focus was also on the increase of people who were now staying at home. However, things have changed since.

As you can see in the image above, movement within the country has significantly increased. More people are using public transport and going to work. The same kind of increase is seen where people are visiting more restaurants and shopping centres.

In short, According to Google, things seem to be going back to normal in Kenya. However, in the same period, we have recorded more cases with over 133 more people testing positive today alone.

So as much as we are moving and working towards a normal life in Kenya, let’s stay safe however best we can.

Where Can You Get The Stats For Your Country/County?

Anyone can view the reports on this link, which covers 131 countries to start. In many locations, users can search for more regional data, examining reports for individual states, provinces, and counties.

After the user selects a geographic region, Google will generate a PDF with the data it has collected. Google said it chose PDFs over web pages because they could be more easily downloaded and shared with workers in the field.