IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0266342.html

The relationship between new PCR positive cases and going out in public during the COVID-19 epidemic in Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Hiromichi Takahashi
  • Iori Terada
  • Takuya Higuchi
  • Daisuke Takada
  • Jung-ho Shin
  • Susumu Kunisawa
  • Yuichi Imanaka

Abstract

The suppression of the first wave of COVID-19 in Japan is assumedly attributed to people’s increased risk perception after acquiring information from the government and media reports. In this study, going out in public amidst the spread of COVID-19 infections was investigated by examining new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive cases of COVID-19 and its relationship to four indicators of people going out in public (the people flow, the index of web searches for going outside, the number of times people browse restaurants, and the number of hotel guests, from the Regional Economic and Social Analysis System (V-RESAS). Two waves of COVID-19 infections were examined using cross-correlation analysis. In the first wave, all four indicators of going out changed to be opposite the change in new PCR positive cases, showing a lag period of –1 to +6 weeks. In the second wave, the same relationship was only observed for the index of web searches for going outside, and two indicators showed the positive lag period of +6 to +12 weeks after the change in new PCR positive cases. Moreover, each indicator in the second wave changed differently compared to the first wave. The complexity of people’s behaviors around going out increased in the second wave, when policies and campaigns were implemented and people’s attitudes were thought to have changed. In conclusion, the results suggest that policies may have influenced people’s mobility, rather than the number of new PCR positive cases.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiromichi Takahashi & Iori Terada & Takuya Higuchi & Daisuke Takada & Jung-ho Shin & Susumu Kunisawa & Yuichi Imanaka, 2022. "The relationship between new PCR positive cases and going out in public during the COVID-19 epidemic in Japan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(5), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0266342
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266342
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266342
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266342&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0266342?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edward L. Glaeser & Caitlin S. Gorback & Stephen J. Redding, 2020. "How Much Does COVID-19 Increase with Mobility? Evidence from New York and Four Other U.S. Cities," Working Papers 2020-22, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    2. Shoji, Masahiro & Cato, Susumu & Iida, Takashi & Ishida, Kenji & Ito, Asei & McElwain, Kenneth, 2020. "COVID-19 and Social Distancing in the Absence of Legal Enforcement: Survey Evidence from Japan," MPRA Paper 101968, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Lu Wang & Jie Yu & Dongmei Chen & Lixia Yang, 2021. "Relationships among COVID-19 Prevention Practices, Risk Perception and Individual Characteristics: A Temporal Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-14, October.
    4. Hosono, Kaoru, 2021. "Epidemic and Economic Consequences of Voluntary and Request-based Lockdowns in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Katafuchi, Yuya & Kurita, Kenichi & Managi, Shunsuke, 2020. "Self-restraint behavior under COVID-19 through stigma: Theory and evidence based on mobility data," MPRA Paper 102182, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Masuhara, Hiroaki & Hosoya, Kei, 2022. "Convergent movement of COVID-19 outbreak in Japan based on SIR model," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 29-43.
    2. Mitsuhiro Fukao & Etsuro Shioji, 2022. "Is There a Trade‐Off between COVID‐19 Control and Economic Activity? Implications from the Phillips Curve Debate," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 17(1), pages 66-85, January.
    3. Kazufumi Tsuboi & Naoya Fujiwara & Ryo Itoh, 2022. "Influence of trip distance and population density on intra-city mobility patterns in Tokyo during COVID-19 pandemic," Papers 2201.01398, arXiv.org.
    4. Jeffrey E. Harris, 2020. "Geospatial Analysis of the September 2020 Coronavirus Outbreak at the University of Wisconsin – Madison: Did a Cluster of Local Bars Play a Critical Role?," NBER Working Papers 28132, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. de Palma, André & Vosough, Shaghayegh & Liao, Feixiong, 2022. "An overview of effects of COVID-19 on mobility and lifestyle: 18 months since the outbreak," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 372-397.
    6. Brandily, Paul & Brébion, Clément & Briole, Simon & Khoury, Laura, 2021. "A poorly understood disease? The impact of COVID-19 on the income gradient in mortality over the course of the pandemic," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    7. Edward L. Glaeser, 2021. "Urban Resilience," NBER Working Papers 29261, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Felipe Carozzi & Sandro Provenzano & Sefi Roth, 2024. "Urban density and COVID-19: understanding the US experience," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 72(1), pages 163-194, January.
    9. Davide Furceri & Siddharth Kothari & Longmei Zhang, 2021. "The effects of COVID‐19 containment measures on the Asia‐Pacific region," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 469-497, October.
    10. Tommaso Ferraresi & Leonardo Ghezzi & Fabio Vanni & Alessandro Caiani & Mattia Guerini & Francesco Lamperti & Severin Reissl & Giorgio Fagiolo & Mauro Napoletano & Andrea Roventini, 2021. "On the Economic and Health Impact of the COVID-19 Shock on Italian Regions: A Value Chain Approach," GREDEG Working Papers 2021-18, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    11. Andrew G. Atkeson & Karen A. Kopecky & Tao Zha, 2024. "Four Stylized Facts About Covid‐19," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 65(1), pages 3-42, February.
    12. Alipour, Jean-Victor & Fadinger, Harald & Schymik, Jan, 2021. "My home is my castle – The benefits of working from home during a pandemic crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    13. Borsati, Mattia & Nocera, Silvio & Percoco, Marco, 2022. "Questioning the spatial association between the initial spread of COVID-19 and transit usage in Italy," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    14. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Keola, Souknilanh & Urata, Shujiro, 2022. "How effective was the restaurant restraining order against COVID-19? A nighttime light study in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    15. Shibamoto, Masahiko & Hayaki, Shoka & Ogisu, Yoshitaka, 2022. "COVID-19 infection spread and human mobility," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Hongtao Li & Taisuke Nakata & Hiroki Sakamoto & Hiroyuki Uneya, 2026. "Lockdown Policy Rules with a Hospital Capacity Constraint," Working Papers e223, Tokyo Center for Economic Research.
    17. Xavier Dufour-Simard & Pierre-Carl Michaud, 2024. "COVID-19 Risk (Mis)Perceptions," CIRANO Working Papers 2024s-14, CIRANO.
    18. Mauro Caselli & Andrea Fracasso & Sergio Scicchitano, 2022. "From the lockdown to the new normal: individual mobility and local labor market characteristics following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1517-1550, October.
    19. Hosono, Kaoru, 2021. "Epidemic and Economic Consequences of Voluntary and Request-based Lockdowns in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    20. Leonardo Fabio Morales & Leonardo Bonilla‐Mejía & Jose Pulido & Luz A. Flórez & Didier Hermida & Karen L. Pulido‐Mahecha & Francisco Lasso‐Valderrama, 2022. "Effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the Colombian labour market: Disentangling the effect of sector‐specific mobility restrictions," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 308-357, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0266342. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.