The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Effects on Park Visits and Lyme Disease in New Jersey

Abstract

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which can be transmitted to humans when an infected blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) feeds on the blood of its human host; it can cause neurological symptoms, cardiac symptoms, and arthritis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in outdoor activities increased in the United States. Since the risk of Lyme disease infection increases with exposure to outdoor environments likely to be inhabited by ticks, there may be a link between the behavioral effects of COVID-19 and the incidence of Lyme disease. Existing studies on the pandemic have examined nationwide trends in outdoor recreation and used the number of social media posts as a proxy for park attendance in a sample of parks in New Jersey. My study examined park attendance for all state- and nationally-managed parks in NJ, as well as Lyme disease cases in NJ. I hypothesized that both park attendance and Lyme disease cases increased during the pandemic, and that there is a positive correlation between park attendance and Lyme disease incidence. Linear models were constructed using annual Lyme disease data and annual park attendance data, as well as using annual park attendance data scaled by forest cover percentage of the park’s land area, since forest cover percentage is a significant predictor of Lyme disease. Park attendance and Lyme disease cases both decreased during the pandemic, and there was virtually no correlation between the two variables; scaling park attendance by forest cover percentage increased correlation for only state park attendance.