A new study out of College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University is blunt: People kept traveling and going about their daily lives–even when they were experiencing COVID symptoms!
“We could not detect any significant change of movement when people should self-quarantine. On the other hand some people almost did not leave home since the beginning of the pandemic, while others move freely around,” says Dr. Janusz Wojtusiak in a university release.
Wojtusiak and the team find the most common ailment volunteers continued to travel normally with was a headache. In fact, results show headaches were always listed as a symptom even if participants had other issues as well.
Other possible COVID symptoms participants experienced included coughs and sore throats.
Despite this, participants traveled an average of 139 miles each week during the study. This window during the pandemic includes periods when Virginia was under a stay-at-home order and after the mandate was lifted. The average volunteer also visited just under six different locations each week during this time.
BUT!!!
Although some volunteers may have had potential coronavirus symptoms, none actually reported suffering a COVID-19 infection. Therefore, the team could not positively link infection rates to movement in this report. The team notes future studies will include data from the winter of 2020, when health officials noted another virus surge in many areas.