The link between transit use and early COVID casesDate: April 14, 2022
Source: Georgia Institute of Technology
Summary:
A new study looks at the association between America's mass transportation usage and case counts in opening months of the pandemic.
Researchers from Georgia Tech's Colleges of Engineering and Computing have completed the first published study on the link between America's mass transit use and Covid-19 cases at the beginning of the pandemic.
Using data from the Federal Highway Administration's National Household Travel Survey, the team looked at the nation's 52 largest metropolitan areas and each community's likelihood of riding buses and trains. They then compared the numbers with the 838,000 confirmed Covid cases on the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering's dashboard from Jan. 22 -- May 1, 2020.
The timeframe covers the initial days, weeks, and months of the pandemic, before mask mandates were in place and prior to widespread social distancing. Ventilation on public transit had yet to be addressed, along with other public health measures that have since become the norm.
The study found that cities with high-usage public transportation systems displayed higher per capita Covid incidence. This was true when other factors, such as education, poverty levels, and household crowding, were accounted for. The association continued to be statistically significant even when the model was run without data from transit-friendly New York City.
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Source:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220414110903.htm
