Harris Co. residents are going out more after end of mask mandate, cell phone data shows
KTRK
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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) Research using cell phone data movement indicates people in Harris County are getting out to shops and restaurants much more than they used to, a rise that comes at the same time that a statewide mask mandate was lifted.
Compared to the state, however, Harris County residents are still heeding stay-at-home recommendations, while data from other counties shows people are out and about much more.
The data uses randomized location information from thousands of cell phones to determine when people are moving outside their normal movement patterns. It s compared to movements they made before the pandemic. That pre-pandemic movement is considered the baseline to the data, and movement is calculated as being above-baseline or below-baseline for comparison.