New data shows that in early June Edinburgh was the most ‘inactive’ part of the UK during lockdown.
The analysis of Google’s mobility data, collected from people who allow the ‘track location’ feature on their phones, shows workplace activity in the UK is way down – with Edinburgh topping the list.
The analysis, published online by information specialist Dan Cookson, shows the performance of the UK as compared to other countries in Europe.
The data shows how many people are in workplaces in the weeks during lockdown compared to ‘normal’ levels before the pandemic.
An animated version of the map shows the UK going into lockdown later than other EU countries, on March 18 – movement can be seen to be just 15% below normal in the UK while much of the rest of Europe turns blue, indicating much more inactive, locked-down populations.
But this doesn’t last for long, as our own lockdown was announced a few days later, which is reflected in inactivity levels on the map.
The change comes quickly and a few days later, on March 24, the day after Boris Johnson announced lockdown, movement in the UK is 56% below normal.
By this point you can see most of Europe has locked down and turned blue with the notable exception of Sweden, which chose not to lock down.
One of the most inactive days shown is April 13 – where even Sweden turns dark blue.
This will have less to do with lockdown rules than the fact that it was Easter Monday and many people would be staying home to celebrate.
The map starts to change around the end of May when most European countries start easing their lockdown measures.
England, Ireland, Belgium and Trukey still have relatively inactive populations at this point, but other countries are starting to see higher levels of people at workplaces once again.
On June 3, the last day the map shows, the UK can still be seen to be fairly deeply lockded down, with 53% less activity than normal at workplaces.
Meanwhile the majority of European countries are back up to two-thirds of normal work place activity and more in some cases.
What about the UK?
Dan Cookson also mapped the UK data by region, showing what the changes from pre-lockdown activity were in different areas as of June 5.
This map shows urban areas are the most inactive still while rural areas have seen farmers back at work - presumably it is easier to maintain distancing in a field than an office.
The data shows that, as of June 5, Edinburgh was the place in he UK with the highest levels of inactivity. That means the lowest numbers of people back at work.
The numbers were also high in other urban centres, 61% in Glasgow and 62% in Greater London.
North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire we’re the least-inactive, showing a 39% drop in activity levels compared to normal.
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