Background: Understanding public behavioral responses to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epide... more Background: Understanding public behavioral responses to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic and the accompanying infodemic is crucial to controlling the epidemic. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess real-time public awareness and behavioral responses to the COVID-19 epidemic across 12 selected countries. Methods: Internet surveillance was used to collect real-time data from the general public to assess public awareness and rumors (China: Baidu; worldwide: Google Trends) and behavior responses (China: Ali Index; worldwide: Google Shopping). These indices measured the daily number of searches or purchases and were compared with the numbers of daily COVID-19 cases. The trend comparisons across selected countries were observed from December 1, 2019 (prepandemic baseline) to April 11, 2020 (at least one month after the governments of selected countries took actions for the pandemic). Results: We identified missed windows of opportunity for early epidemic control in 12...
Background: Understanding public behavioral responses to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epide... more Background: Understanding public behavioral responses to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic and the accompanying infodemic is crucial to controlling the epidemic. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess real-time public awareness and behavioral responses to the COVID-19 epidemic across 12 selected countries. Methods: Internet surveillance was used to collect real-time data from the general public to assess public awareness and rumors (China: Baidu; worldwide: Google Trends) and behavior responses (China: Ali Index; worldwide: Google Shopping). These indices measured the daily number of searches or purchases and were compared with the numbers of daily COVID-19 cases. The trend comparisons across selected countries were observed from December 1, 2019 (prepandemic baseline) to April 11, 2020 (at least one month after the governments of selected countries took actions for the pandemic). Results: We identified missed windows of opportunity for early epidemic control in 12...
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