VPN usage in the US increased by 71% in the last seven days, and by a staggering 124% in the last two weeks.
This is according to Atlas VPN which says it measured how much traffic travelled through its servers last week from its 53 000 weekly users. The number of customers increased by 6% during the past week. In most countries, traffic that travelled through its servers increased by more than 6%, meaning not only did the number of people using a VPN increase, but the frequency and time of connection increased as well.
During the last two weeks, VPN usage in the US increased by 124%. On March 9th, the US government reported 704 confirmed coronavirus cases. As of 22 March, the Covid-19 case count already reached 32 356. This means the coronavirus case count surged by a staggering 4,496% in just 14 days.
In Italy, where the Coronavirus is wreaking havoc, the VPN usage during these two weeks increased by 160%, Atlas VPN says.
One rather unique case is the growth of VPN usage in Russia, it adds. VPN usage jumped by 57% in the two week period. Yet, the authorities only confirmed 438 coronavirus cases in the 144,5 million Russian population.
Just a few days ago, Russia, just like China, got accused of underreporting the number of infections, the organization says. The Russia’s Alliance of Doctors union publicly stated the Russian government is covering up coronavirus cases as ordinary pneumonia
Rachel Welch, Chief Operating Officer of Atlas VPN, voiced her concern: “It’s almost unimaginable that governments could hide the real infection rate. Such misinformation endangers all citizens. If people believe that the spread of the virus is stopped, then they will not take the needed measures to protect themselves.”
