American Foot Traffic Moving Slowly Despite Vaccinations

Vaccine distribution is up and the virus rate is dropping, but Americans are still not running out the door to mix and mingle in most states, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (April 5), citing data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Across the U.S. — with the exception of Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota — the number of times people spent 10 minutes or more away from home was down 6 percent. Those three states are also among the 11 where people drove further than before the coronavirus took hold in March 2020.

While many people started returning to indoor dining, movie theaters and gyms are still suffering from a lack of business. Some states — California, New York and Washington, D.C. — still have some restrictions in place. Foot-traffic data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal shows most people across the country are not traveling too far from home.

Attendance at most houses of worship and nonessential businesses is down 19 percent compared to pre-pandemic times. In Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota, however, houses of worship, movie theaters and gyms are back to normal.

In Arizona and North Carolina, January, February and early March saw the number of people going to nonessential businesses and houses of worship increased.

Businesses of all sizes have struggled to formulate survival strategies to stay afloat during lockdowns and other restrictions. However, PYMNTS data shows that when the virus first took hold, only about a third of respondents were “very” or “extremely” worried about the coronavirus. About 14.7 percent were not worried at all.