Shifts in outdoor activity patterns in the time of COVID-19 and its implications for exposure to vector-borne diseases in the United States.
Authors: M. Pilar Fernandez, Gebbiena M. Bron, Pallavi A. Kache, Jean I. Tsao, Lyric C. Bartholomay, Mary H. Hayden, Kacey C. Ernst, Kevin Berry, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser.
Contact: pilar.fernandez@wsu.edu
Unintended consequences of human behavioral changes induced by governmental and individual responses to COVID-19 risk are yet to be fully realized. Herein, we evaluated changes in outdoor activity patterns during the spring and summer of 2020 vs. 2019 in the Northeast and Midwest United States. We used self-reported data from daily surveys available through a smartphone application, The Tick App. We simultaneously assessed changes in exposure to tick vectors in relation to changes in outdoor recreation. Outdoor activities and particularly peridomestic activities, increased by two-fold between years, while recreational activities in green spaces decreased by 70%. Tick encounters increased by 30%, and were mainly associated with outdoor activities and living in a rural county. Changes in outdoor recreation were associated with statewide stay-at-home orders in 2020 and persisted as out-of-home mobility increased. Our findings suggest that public health response should also address competing hazards from COVID-19 related outdoor exposure.