TRAFFIC and movement of people are returning to pre-pandemic levels in Donegal according to date from Apple and Google.

As the last restrictions on society begin to ease people have returned to shops and parks in numbers comparable to January 2020 before Covid regulations were introduced.

The movement figures are anonymously collected from hundreds of thousands of Irish smartphones.

Most regulations are expected to be lifted by October 22 but major changes are happening gradually in the weeks up until then.

According to Apple’s iPhone data car usage in Donegal has risen considerably on pre-pandemic levels. This is understood to be down to large numbers of people staycationing and down to those working remotely where previously they would have been city-based.

Retail and recreation is also back up, ten per-cent higher than it was in July, while supermarkets and pharmacies are enjoying a strong bounce back following the lifting of restrictions.

Meanwhile Donegal’s parks are booming again with a 93 per-cent increase in usage as families have emerged from lockdown.

After months of being at home staff have been returning to the workplace in large numbers too. In Donegal workplace attendance is now just a fifth below the level it was when restrictions began.

A renewed confidence is also being shown in travelling via public transport. According to Google and Apple data passenger numbers are back on par with pre-pandemic activity.