  This study empirically investigates the complex interplay between the
severity of the coronavirus pandemic, mobility changes in retail and
recreation, transit stations, workplaces, and residential areas, and lockdown
measures in 88 countries of the word. To conduct the study, data on mobility
patterns, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of people, lockdown
measures, and coronavirus pandemic were collected from multiple sources (e.g.,
Google, UNDP, UN, BBC, Oxford University, Worldometer). A Structural Equation
Modeling (SEM) technique is used to investigate the direct and indirect effects
of independent variables on dependent variables considering the intervening
effects of mediators. Results show that lockdown measures have significant
effects to encourage people to maintain social distancing. However, pandemic
severity and socioeconomic and institutional factors have limited effects to
sustain social distancing practice. The results also explain that socioeconomic
and institutional factors of urbanity and modernity have significant effects on
pandemic severity. Countries with a higher number of elderly people, employment
in the service sector, and higher globalization trend are the worst victims of
the coronavirus pandemic (e.g., USA, UK, Italy, and Spain). Social distancing
measures are reasonably effective at tempering the severity of the pandemic.
