  Since the primary mode of respiratory virus transmission is person-to-person
interaction, we are required to reconsider physical interaction patterns to
mitigate the number of people infected with COVID-19. While research has shown
that non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) had an evident impact on national
mobility patterns, we investigate the relative regional mobility behaviour to
assess the effect of human movement on the spread of COVID-19. In particular,
we explore the impact of human mobility and social connectivity derived from
Facebook activities on the weekly rate of new infections in Germany between
March 3rd and June 22nd, 2020. Our results confirm that reduced social activity
lowers the infection rate, accounting for regional and temporal patterns. The
extent of social distancing, quantified by the percentage of people staying put
within a federal administrative district, has an overall negative effect on the
incidence of infections. Additionally, our results show spatial infection
patterns based on geographic as well as social distances.
