The evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of google searches.

Real-time data is essential for policymakers to adapt to a rapidly evolving situation like the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from 221 countries and territories, we demonstrate the capacity of Google search data to anticipate reported COVID-19 cases and understand how containment policies are associated with changes in socioeconomic indicators. First, search interest in COVID-specific symptoms such as "loss of smell" strongly correlated with cases initially, but the association diminished as COVID-19 evolved; general terms such as "COVID symptoms" remained strongly associated with cases.