The latest data from Apple Maps suggests Americans are starting to decrease how much they drive as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in several states.
CNBC reported that the U.S. seven-day moving average of requests to call up driving directions on the app is down 6%.
There was a sharp downtrend starting in early March during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, but then it began to tick back up a month later as Americans started venturing out of their homes.
The latest decrease includes the Fourth of July, CNBC noted, which indicates that more Americans than usual opted to stay home on the holiday. Driving, walking, and transit directions are all down.
Many Fourth of July celebrations, such as parades and fireworks displays, were canceled or scaled down this year because of the virus that has infected more than 3.1 million Americans and killed around 135,000 since the first reported cases cropped up in Washington in January.
Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas — the four states with the worst virus outbreaks at the moment — have all seen a decrease in Apple Maps activity in recent days. On the other hand, states such as Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island don't have as many new cases and have not experienced a downward trend in people calling up Apple Maps directions.
No data was available from Google about its own directions app.
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