Does precise case disclosure limit precautionary behavior? Evidence from COVID-19 in Singapore

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Economics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Contagious disease spread requires both governmental and voluntary actions.
• Government policies can shape public response to pandemics beyond direct interventions.
• Singapore's Ministry of Health shared precise, daily COVID-19 case data, including locations and travel history, during the first wave.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify behavioral changes in response to local and national COVID-19 case announcements.
• To assess the effectiveness of granular public health information dissemination.

Main Methods:

• Utilized device-level cellphone data to track population mobility.
• Analyzed the correlation between detailed COVID-19 case announcements and behavioral shifts.
• Compared responses to local versus national outbreak notifications.

Main Results:

• Individuals demonstrated a threefold greater response to outbreaks in granularly defined local areas.
• Transparency in case information led to significant behavioral adjustments.
• Precautionary activity reductions were mitigated by detailed local outbreak data.

Conclusions:

• Granular public health data significantly influences individual behavior during pandemics.
• Targeted information sharing can be an effective policy tool for managing disease spread.
• This transparency offers economic benefits by minimizing widespread precautionary behavior changes.