Aucklanders largely stayed at home during the first weekend of the Alert Level 3 Covid-19 lockdown, Google tracking data released yesterday shows.
Trips to retail and recreation sites are down 57 per cent in Auckland during the first Alert Level 3 weekend when compared to normal. For the country as a whole, these trips are down 26 per cent.
Regions elsewhere in the country, which are under Alert Level 2 restrictions, also saw dips in travel numbers - albeit nowhere near as dramatic as the Auckland region. Trips to retail and recreation were down nine per cent in the Waikato, down four per cent in Wellington and down two per cent in Canterbury for the same time period.
All recent Covid-19 cases in the community were detected in Auckland, with the exception to two cases in Tokoroa, which were connected to the cases in Auckland.
Trips to the supermarket and pharmacy were also down 23 per cent in Auckland compared to normal, and 14 per cent nationwide.
These trips were down 14 per cent in the Waikato, down nine per cent in Wellington and down two per cent in Canterbury.
Public transport use has also dropped - 68 per cent in Auckland, 21 per cent in Waikato, 18 per cent in Wellington and 44 per cent in Canterbury. New Zealand-wide, public transport use has decreased by 48 per cent.
Google says the data is anonymised and does not breach privacy, and warns that comparisons between countries and regions may be affected by different characteristics, such as rural versus urban settings.
The data included data from July 4 to August 15.
The company says the information could help public health officials to “make critical decisions to combat Covid-19”.
Search for individual countries or regions here .
SHARE ME