In July, when the country had gradually emerged from the Covid-19-induced lockdown, the unlocking contributed to increased mobility of people, as compared to the lockdown months.
On the other hand, the month also witnessed the first of the two upward spikes in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, post-declaration of the pandemic. This thawed the re-emerging mobility.
Again, in September, the country witnessed a second spike (higher daily numbers than in July) in the confirmed cases. This time, however, mobility was not downwardly affected and, in fact, it rose across the States.
So, what were the factors behind the differing data on mobility?
A study by CRISIL found that, among the number of other factors, ‘pandemic-fatigue' could have contributed to the increased mobility during the second surge.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines pandemic-fatigue as people “feeling demotivated by having to constantly take protective measures.” The WHO’s September report estimated this fatigue to have reached over 60 per cent of those surveyed in Europe, in some cases.
As people and governments learned to live with the virus, outdoor activities increased, albeit with precaution. Using the Google Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports as a proxy, the study found that the increased recovery rates from the infection across the country, reduced governmental restrictions and ‘pandemic-fatigue' encouraged people to move outdoors, despite the increase in the caseloads.
Given the blow dealt by the pandemic to incomes across the country, livelihood choices seem to have prevailed over utmost caution, the report concludes.