Observing Individual Behaviors Outside of COVID-19 Hotspots

In March 2020, a team of researchers from NYU GPH and Tandon School of Engineering began a project funded by the National Science Foundation to study individual interactions outside COVID-19 hotspots in New York City. Led by Professor Debra Laefer, the team collected local data near medical facilities to understand how the virus spreads through surface contact and transportation choices. They found that 75% of individuals touched at least one surfaces post-visit to a hot spot, with 11% touching their phones. The team made their dataset publicly available to aid global research efforts in combating COVID-19.

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