Determination of Population Mobility Dynamics in Popayán-Colombia during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Open Datasets

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 10;19(22):14814. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192214814.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a catastrophic event that marked the history of humanity. The virus's transmissibility has primarily prevented the control of the pandemic, so it has become vital to determine and control the dynamics of the population mobility to reduce the epidemiological impact. Considering the above, this paper uses an exposure indicator based on the movement ranges provided by Facebook to determine the dynamics of population mobility in Popayán city for the period after the appearance of COVID-19. Using statistical analysis techniques, it then contrasts the data obtained with the public circulation reports provided by Google and Apple. The results suggest that the exposure indicator is reliable and presents moderate to strong linear relationships for the public data, which implies that it can be an additional resource for decision-making to curb the spread of the virus.

Keywords: COVID-19; Facebook data for good; exposure indicator; mobile phone location data; movement range maps; population mobility.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • Colombia
  • Humans
  • Influenza, Human* / epidemiology
  • Pandemics
  • Population Dynamics

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding, and the APC was funded by Corporación Universitaria Comfacauca.