Download the codebook here.

Terms and Conditions for Citing CoronaNet

By using this site or downloading data from CoronaNet, users agree to the following:

  • To use and/or download the data only for private or personal, non-commercial purposes
  • To cite the source of the data and
  • To accept disclaimers and restrictions of rights and liability converning the data

Citing CoronaNet

For non-academic purposes, please cite the information in CoronaNet as:

  • Source: CoronaNet Research Project

For academic purposes, please cite the information in CoronaNet and/or user’s guide using the following citation:

  • APA: Cheng, C., Barcelo, J., Hartnett, A.S., Kubinec, R., & Messerschmidt, L. (2020). CoronaNet—Tracking governments COVID-19 responses. https://www.coronanet-project.org
  • Chicago: Cheng, Cindy, Joan Barcelo, Allison Spencer Hartnett, Robert Kubinec, and Luca Messerschmidt. 2020. “CoronaNet -Tracking Governments COVID-19 Responses.” https://www.coronanet-project.org

The dataset in combination with the paper published in “Nature Human Behavior” can be cited the following way:

  • Cheng, Cindy, Joan Barceló, Allison Hartnett, Robert Kubinec, and Luca Messerschmidt. 2020. COVID-19 Government Response Event Dataset (CoronaNet v1.0). Nature Human Behaviour (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0909-7

CoronaNet Research Group

The project is organized and led by:


What is the CoronaNet Research Project

The CoronaNet Research Project compiles a database on government responses to the corona virus. Our main focus is to collect as much information as we can about the various fine-grained actions governments are taking to defeat the coronavirus. This includes not only gathering information about which governments are responding to the coronavirus, but who they are targeting the policies toward (e.g. other countries), how they are doing it (e.g. travel restrictions, banning exports of masks) and when they are doing it. Together with over 500 scholars and research assistants from all over the world we present an initial release of a large hand-coded dataset of more than 15,000 separate policy announcements from governments around the world visible since December 31st 2019.

The data yields detailed information on

  • The levels of government responding to the corona virus crisis (e.g. national, regional/state, local/municipal)

  • Specific actions taken (e.g. travel bans, investments in the public health sector, etc.)

  • Geographical areas targeted by these measures

  • Who or what they are targeting (e.g. foreigners, ventilators)

  • Compliance mechanisms (e.g., mandatory or voluntary)

  • Timing of policy responses


CoronaNet Dataset Variable Definitions

variable_name variable_description variable_categories (first_stage_division) sub_variables_description
record_id Unique identifier for each policy record
policy_id Unique identifier for one policy: Updates and corrections have the same policy_id as the original record.
recorded_date When the record was entered into our data
date_updated Displays the last update date of the respective policy
date_ announced When the policy goes into effect
date_start Date that the government policy takes effect.
date_end Date that the government policy ends or is projected to end.
entry_type Whether the record is new, meaning no restriction had been in place before, or an update (restriction was in place but changed). Corrections are corrections to previous entries. Update New_entry NA
update_type In case the policy is an update, shows whether policy has changed or was ended. End of Policy Change of Policy NA
event_ description A short description of the policy change
domestic_policy Marks whether the initiator of a policy is the same as the target of the policy (1) or not (0). 1 0
type The category and sub- category of the policy Restriction and Regulation of Government Services “Public libraries”
“Public museums/galleries”
“No special population targeted”
“Issuing of permits/certificates and/or processing of government documents”
“Other public facilities”
“Regulated government working hours (e.g. work from home policies for government workers)”
“All non-essential government services regulated”
“All essential government services regulated”
“Other workers where the distinction between essential or non-essential is not explictely made”
“Parks”
“Other public outdoor spaces”
“Regulations on government meetings (including e.g. suspension of parliament)”
“Regulations on publicly provided waste management services”
“Other population not specifed above”
“Public courts”
“Campsites”
“Beaches”
“People of a certain age”
“Unspecified public facilities”
Quarantine Self-Quarantine (i.e. quarantine at home)
Quarantine outside the home or government facility (i.e. quarantine in a hotel)
Other Quarantine
Government Quarantine (i.e. quarantine at a government hotel or facility)
Quarantine only applies to people of certain ages
Health Resources Other Health Infrastructure
“Masks”
“Other Health Materials”
“Public Testing Facilities (e.g. drive-in testing for COVID-19)”
“Hospitals”
“Temporary Quarantine Centers”
“Temporary Medical Centers”
“Hand Sanitizer”
“Personal Protective Equipment”
“Test Kits”
“Other Heath Staff”
“Ventilators”
“Unspecified Health Staff”
“Health Research Facilities”
“Doctors”
“Nurses”
“Health Volunteers”
“Unspecified Health Infrastructure”
“Unspecified Health Materials”
“Medicine/Drugs”
“Vaccines”
“Health Insurance”
NA
External Border Restrictions “Other External Border Restriction”
“Travel History Form (e.g. documents where traveler has recently been)”
“Visa restrictions (e.g. suspend issuance of visa)”
“Health Screenings (e.g. temperature checks)”
“Health Certificates”
“Visa extensions (e.g. visa validity extended)”
Lockdown “Lockdown applies to all people”
“Lockdown only applies to people of certain ages”
“Lockdown only applies to people with certain health conditions”
“Lockdown only applies to people with a condition not specified above”
Health Testing -
Social Distancing “All public spaces / everywhere”
“Inside public or commercial building (e.g. supermarkets)”
“Other Mask Wearing Policy”
“Unspecified Mask Wearing Policy”
“Wearing masks”
Closure and Regulation of Schools “Preschool or childcare facilities (generally for children ages 5 and below)”
“Primary Schools (generally for children ages 10 and below)”
“Secondary Schools (generally for children ages 10 to 18)”
Health Monitoring -
Public Awareness Measures Disseminating information related to COVID-19 to the public that is reliable and factually accurate
Both Disseminating and Gathering information related to COVID-19
Gathering information related to COVID-19 from the public
Restriction and Regulation of Businesses "Retail Businesses
“Shopping Centers”
“Non-Essential Commercial Businesses”
“Personal Grooming Businesses (e.g. hair salons)”
“Other Non-Essential Businesses”
“All or unspecified non- essential businesses”
“All or unspecified essential businesses”
“Other Essential Businesses”
“Supermarkets/grocery stores”
“Pharmacies”
“Construction”
“Telecommunications”
“Information service activities”
“Mining and quarrying”
“Publishing activities”
“Warehousing and support activities for transportation”
Restrictions of Mass Gatherings “Cancellation of an annually recurring event”
“Cancellation of a recreational or commercial event”
“Postponement of an annually recurring event”
“Postponement of a recreational or commercial event”
“Prison population reduced (e.g. early release of prisoners)”
Declaration of Emergency -
Internal Border Restrictions -
New Task Force, Bureau or Administrative Configuration “Other Administrative Configurations”
“Existing government entity given new powers”
“New Task Force or Bureau (i.e. establishment of a temporary body)”
Curfew -
Hygiene “Other Areas Hygiene Measures Applied”
“Hygiene measures for commercial areas”
“Hygiene measures for public areas”
“Burial procedures”
“Hygiene measures for public transport”
Anti-Disinformation Measures “No special population targeted”
“People with certain health conditions”
“Other population not specifed above”
Other Policy Not Listed Above -
index_high_est The high (95% posterior density) estimate of the country policy activity score (0-100).
index_med_est The median (most likely) estimate of the country policy activity score (0- 100).
index_low_est The low (95% posterior density) estimate of the country policy activity score (0-100)
index_country_ rank The relative rank by each day for each country on the policy activity score.
correct_type Indicates whether an entry was corrected by the coder. original correction
country The country initiating the policy
init_country_ level Whether the policy came from the national level or a sub-national unit National Provincial Municipal Other (e.g., county) Documents the province from which a policy is initiated, if applicable.
City from which a policy is initiated, if applicable.
source_corr_ type Shows, in case of an entry correction, whether a new source was added Use the old source Add a new source
target_geog_ level Whether the target of the policy is a country as a whole or a sub-national unit of that country One or more countries, but not all countries All countries A geographical or administrative unit within a country One or more countries and one or more regional groupings One or more regional groupings An international Which foreign country a policy is targeted at (i.e. travel policies)
This variable documents the region or regions that is/are the targets of a particular government policy.
Targeted province of a policy, if applicable.
Targeted city of a policy, if applicable.
organization (e.g. World Health Organization) This variable documents the subnational region or regions that is/are the target of a particular government policy.
target_who_ what Who the policy is targeted at All Travelers (Citizen Travelers + Foreign Travelers) All (Travelers + Residents) All Residents (Citizen Residents +Foreign Residents) Health-Related Supplies Foreign Travelers Citizen Travelers Health Staff All Foreign Nationals (Foreign Residents + Foreign Travelers) All Citizens (Citizen Residents + Citizen Travelers) Citizen Residents Foreign Residents (Foreign Nationals Residing in the Country) Health-Infrastructure Other
target_direction Whether a travel-related policy affects people coming in (Inbound) or leaving (Outbound)
travel_ mechanism If a travel policy, what kind of transportation it affects All kinds of transport Flights Trains Land Border Flights Seaports Cruises Ferries Buses Not Applicable Other
compliance Whether the policy is voluntary or mandatory Mandatory With Legal Penalties Mandatory with Fines Mandatory (Unspecified/Implied) Mandatory with Exceptions Recommended/Voluntary but no penalties
enforcer What unit in the country is responsible for enforcement National government Ministry/Department of Health Military Provincial/state government Municipal government Police
link A link to at least one source for the policy
ISO_A3 3-digit ISO country codes
ISO_A2 2-digit ISO country codes