In another study, Google mobility reports were leveraged to see how people’s movements and gatherings changed in response to different COVID-19 alert levels and policy interventions in Taiwan. It was shown that crowds in retail sites, recreation sites, parks, transit stations, and workplaces in Taiwan declined significantly after the Taipei City and New Taipei City Level-3 alerts. Then when the Level-3 COVID-19 alert was implemented throughout Taiwan on May 15, 2021, the average number of daily trips dropped sharply, particularly in urban areas. Taipei City saw a 52% reduction in daily trips, with an average decrease of 28% for all cities. This decline in movement, both before and after strict lockdown measures, indicated that people in Taiwan chose to limit their activities and gatherings as a precaution. 

Lastly, despite the emergence of the Omicron variant in early 2022, low hospitalization and death rates persisted in Taiwan, and people continued with their normal lives as seen in Google mobility reports. This suggested that the public health measures and public response in Taiwan have been successful in mitigating the impact of the Omicron variant (Tsou et al., 2024). Google Trends data served as a valuable proxy for understanding population behavior and sentiments that are not easily captured through traditional survey methods. These digital footprints helped gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the public’s response to the pandemic and the effectiveness of different policies and interventions.