Fewer Kenyans now staying indoors, latest Google mobility report shows
More Kenyans have disregarded government directive to stay at home and decided to go back to their places of work this week compared to last week, Google’s latest Covid-19 Community Mobility Report reveals.
According to the report released on Monday, more people are visiting recreation centres, groceries, pharmacies, parks, bus stops and train stations, while fewer people are staying at home and going to their places of work.
REDUCED MOVEMENT
“Eight percent more Kenyans, as opposed to a five percent reduction of movement witnessed in the previous week, have visited retail and recreation spaces in the last one week. These spaces include restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, museums, libraries, and movie theaters,” the report says.
This could be as a result of the government’s recent directive on reopening of restaurants.
Additionally, there is also a 10 percent increase in the number of people who visited grocery markets, farmers markets, speciality food shops, drug stores, and pharmacies in the last week.
In the week before, the country had recorded a seven percent reduction in movement in these areas. Increased visits to drug stores and pharmacies could be an indication to Kenyans trying to find self-medication solutions against Covid-19.
Six percent more Kenyans also visited national parks, public beaches, marinas, dog parks, plazas, and public gardens compared to the previous week’s three percent reduction in movement.
The report further reveals that more people used public transport like buses and trains – a nine percent increase in movement in bus and train stations, up from a previous three percent reduction.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
There was a one percent drop in movement in both residential areas and places of work in the last week, compared to the previous week’s five percent drop and 16 percent increase respectively.
Nairobi recorded a nine percent increase in the number of people visiting retail and recreation spaces in the last week, from a previous six percent reduction.
The percentage of those staying at home remained constant, with the capital recording a 13 percent rise in visits to grocery spaces from a previous drop of four percent.
Visits to parks also increased by 16 percent in the capital after the previous two weeks recorded a constant percentage of visits.
Those using public transport rose by nine percent in the last week after a previous six percent drop.
The Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports are part of Google’s global response to the coronavirus pandemic to help people and public health officials understand responses to social distancing guidance related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The reports use aggregated, anonymised data to chart movement trends over time by geography, across different high-level categories of places such as retail and recreation, groceries and pharmacies, public transport termini, workplaces, and residential.