Study Says More Americans Are Going Outside Amid Lockdown Due to 'Quarantine Fatigue'

A new study from the Maryland Transportation Institute at the University of Maryland, Americans are starting to feel the effects of "quarantine fatigue," and are venturing outside despite the stay-at-home orders issued by their respective states, The Washington Postreports. 

The study, which tracked over 100 million cellphones monthly, showed that on April 17, the average number of people who presumably stayed at home since their device didn’t move at least one mile in a single day saw a weekly decline from 33 percent to 31 percent. It was a noticeable change in activity since the staying-home percentage either increased or held steady over the previous six weeks. 

The average number of personal daily trips also rose to 2.5 per person, in comparison to 2.4 the previous Friday. 

Lead researcher Lei Zhang notes that while the change appears to be small, it is statistically significant given the large sample size. "We saw something we hoped wasn’t happening," Zhang said. "It seems collectively we’re getting a little tired. It looks like people are loosening up on their own to travel more."

It’s too early to pinpoint why the decline occurred, but experts believe that it could be attributed to a number of factors, including Trump’s support of protesters in some stages calling for an end to their stay-at-home order, and a few governors exploring the possibility of reopening the economy. 

Among those states in the latter group, residents of Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee represented some of the lower percentages in their study, between 23 percent and 26 percent.

Another factor contributing to "quarantine fatigue" is the change of weather, which allegedly had people feeling the increasing urge to go outside as the temperature rises. This was evident in the fact that many Californian went to the beach over the weekend, sparking backlash and drawing pleas from neighboring counties that hope the weeks of progress towards containing the spread of coronavirus haven't been lost. 

Dr. Wilbur Chen, associate professor at the University of Maryland's School of Medicine, admitted that it was still too early to determine if their findings are just a one-week occurrence or the start of an ongoing trend.