Why do some geographical regions adapt to social distancing and stay-at-home orders better than others? Epidemiologist Nabarun Dasgupta ’00 and his team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill set out to answer this question by studying location data from 65 million mobile devices to isolate key factors, such as limited access to doctors, public parks and recreation facilities, and food insecurity.
Dasgupta and his team hypothesized that healthier and wealthier counties would be better able to adopt social distancing measures during COVID-19. The study compared variations in social distancing intensity to health care, economic, structural, and demographic factors. Counties with higher social distancing compliance rates tended to have higher incomes, more public spaces for physical activity, better access to food, and more primary care providers than counties with lower compliance.
Read more about Dasgupta’s study here.
NSF RAPID grant awarded for study of how anxiety affects the spread of COVID-19 information
Princeton researchers have been awarded a National Science Foundation RAPID grant to study how anxiety about COVID-19 influences how we learn and share information about the pandemic. Read more …
Alumni create online directory to support local businesses
Maggie Zhang ’16 and Daniel He ’16 recognize that small businesses are the heart of our communities — and the most susceptible to the economic effects of the pandemic. To help those businesses survive, they created Local for Later, an online directory to promote local businesses through gift cards. they wrote on their site, which has grown to include 11 U.S. cities.
Each city’s list is made up of businesses submitted by users, and includes restaurants, shops, and activities like theaters and tour companies.
See the lists and add your favorite here.
Princeton Faculty Members Send Greetings As Classes Go Virtual
No one has all the answers about what comes next, not even Princeton faculty. But as Princeton shifted to virtual learning during the COVID-19 outbreak, professors from across disciplines sent warm video reassurance that their mission remained the same, and that Princeton is wherever you are.