PIDE COVID-19 Blog (no. 2) : Coronavirus and Google Searches in Pakistan, what the trends tell

Abstract

“Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China in December 2019, coronavirus related searches have trumped all other searches globally. The search term ‘coronavirus’ is by far the most searched term on the internet. The outbreak of COVID-19 has sparked both curiosity and fear among the people. No surprises there. The coronavirus fear has brought other anxieties as well. It is natural to feel concerned about several things due to the scale of the outbreak. The related concerns are coronavirus cure, the impact of coronavirus on the economy, hygiene or sanitizer, lockdown, and quarantine. Let us have a look at what we Pakistanis, as a nation, have been searching since the coronavirus became a global concern. The interest surged toward the end of January, so we observe the trends starting from January 25. For the sake of comparison, I compare the trends in searches in Pakistan with worldwide trends.”