U.K. Sunshine Lures Crowds Outside in New Lockdown Challenge

(Bloomberg) --

More people in the U.K. went to parks and beaches last weekend than at any time during the seven-week lockdown, a sign of the mounting challenge the government faces in convincing people to stay at home.

Data compiled by Google show that sunshine over the three-day weekend led to a surge in the number of people going out for recreation as hopes rose that the lockdown would be significantly eased. Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed on Sunday that the measures would be eased slowly and introduced higher fines for people who flout social distancing measures.

More people also went to stores and pharmacies than usual during the lockdown, though the number still remains lower than it was before people were told to stay at home to avoid the health system being overwhelmed.

The number of people traveling continued to slowly rise from the lows following the lockdown, even as scientists advising the government and transport system managers warned people to avoid unnecessary journeys.

Google produces the insights using aggregated and anonymized data from users who have switched on their location history setting. The baseline is the median value, for the corresponding day of the week, during the five weeks through Feb. 6. The definition of parks includes public beaches, marinas and plazas.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.