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COVID-19 has turned where we go and what we do upside down - and Google knows by how much.
While residents are holding back on making shopping trips, interest in going to parks has skyrocketed.
Visits to parks are up by 37 percent, according to the most recent Google Mobility data a national analysis of where people spend their time.
The only other place people are spending more time is at home - people are spending 5 percent more time there than they would under non-pandemic circumstances.
Meanwhile, even places that are necessary for people to go have seen declines.
Statewide, visits to grocery stores and pharmacies are down by 7 percent, while shopping trips to retailers is down by 13 percent
It’s no surprise visits to transit stations are down - by 31 percent. And going into the office is down by 10 percent.
The data provided covers people’s activities from Nov. 1-Dec. 13 and compares it to a baseline of typical visits to several places: retail and recreation, grocery and pharmacy, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential.
LOCAL CHANGES
Some areas of Connecticut have experienced sharper mobility shifts than others.
- For example, people in Litchfield, Middlesex, and Tolland counties increased their trips to parks by more than 60 percent - nearly 70 percent in Middlesex.
- Hartford County residents were the least interested in getting back to nature - trips to parks rose by 21 percent in that county.
- Windham County bucks a few trends seen in the rest of the state. In Windham there was no dip in retail and recreation spending and trips to the grocery store and pharmacy have gone up by 12 percent. Staying home only went up by 3 percent.
- The biggest shift in Fairfield County is a 45 percent increase in park visits.
- In Hartford County, the biggest change was travel - going to transit stations is down 38 percent.
- Litchfield County residents are heading to the parks more - with 65 percent more visits recorded.
- Middlesex County is different from any other county in that visits to transit stations increased here - dramatically. They are up by 30 percent.
- In New Haven County, going into the office is down 15 percent.
- New London County hasn't changed its grocery shopping and pharmacy habits much with just 1 percent fewer trips to the stores.
- Tolland County is showing a 3 percent increase in people going into the office.For more information or to see specific county data, visit Google Mobility data online.
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