Effectiveness of public health measures to prevent the transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 at mass gatherings: A rapid review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kieran A. Walsh ◽  
Barrie Tyner ◽  
Natasha Broderick ◽  
Patricia Harrington ◽  
Michelle O’Neill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Health Measures

scholarly journals Response2covid19, a dataset of governments’ responses to COVID-19 all around the world

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Porcher
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Economic Decision Making ◽  
The World ◽  
Robust Evidence

AbstractFollowing the COVID-19 outbreak, governments all around the world have implemented public health and economic measures to contain the spread of the virus and to support the economy. Public health measures include domestic lockdown, school closures and bans on mass gatherings among others. Economic measures cover wage support, cash transfers, interest rates cuts, tax cuts and delays, and support to exporters or importers. This paper introduces ‘Response2covid19’, a living dataset of governments’ responses to COVID-19. The dataset codes the various policy interventions with their dates at the country-level for more than 200 countries from January 1 to October 1, 2020 and is updated every month. The production of detailed data on the measures taken by governments can help generate robust evidence to support public health and economic decision making.

scholarly journals The Outcome and Implications of Public Precautionary Measures in Taiwan–Declining Respiratory Disease Cases in the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (13) ◽  
pp. 4877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Chia Hsieh ◽  
Chih-Hao Lin ◽  
William Yu Chung Wang ◽  
David J. Pauleen ◽  
Jengchung Victor Chen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Major Purpose ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
First Case ◽  
The Government

With the rapid development of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are trying to cope with increasing medical demands, and, at the same time, to reduce the increase of infected numbers by implementing a number of public health measures, namely non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). These public health measures can include social distancing, frequent handwashing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) at the personal level; at the community and the government level, these measures can range from canceling activities, avoiding mass gatherings, closing facilities, and, at the extreme, enacting national or provincial lockdowns. Rather than completely stopping the infectious disease, the major purpose of these NPIs in facing an emerging infectious disease is to reduce the contact rate within the population, and reduce the spread of the virus until the time a vaccine or reliable medications become available. The idea is to avoid a surge of patients with severe symptoms beyond the capacity of the hospitals’ medical resources, which would lead to more mortality and morbidity. While many countries have experienced steep curves in new cases, some, including Hong Kong, Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan, seem to have controlled or even eliminated the infection locally. From its first case of COVID-19 on the 21 January until the 12 May, Taiwan had 440 cases, including just 55 local infections, and seven deaths in total, representing 1.85 cases per 100,000 population and a 1.5% death rate (based on the Worldometer 2020 statistics of Taiwan’s population of 23.8 million). This paper presents evidence that spread prevention involving mass masking and universal hygiene at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 50% decline of infectious respiratory diseases, based on historical data during the influenza season in Taiwan. These outcomes provide potential support for the effectiveness of widely implementing public health precaution measures in controlling COVID-19 without a lockdown policy.

scholarly journals Quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to control COVID-19: a rapid review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Nussbaumer-Streit ◽  
Verena Mayr ◽  
Andreea Iulia Dobrescu ◽  
Andrea Chapman ◽  
Emma Persad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Health Measures

scholarly journals The first 8 weeks of the Austrian SARS-CoV-2 epidemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Nagel ◽  
Agata Łaszewska ◽  
Gerald Haidinger ◽  
Judit Simon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Health Consequences ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
Hygiene Measures ◽  
Testing Case

Summary Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV‑2) reached Austria in February 2020. This study aims to describe the first 8 weeks of the Austrian epidemic and reflect on the potential mental health consequences as known at that time. Methods Data on Austrian Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) epidemiological indicators and number of tests were obtained from official registers. Relative risks (RRs) of infection and death from COVID-19 were calculated for sex and age groups (< 65 years and ≥ 65 years). Public health measures introduced to reduce the spread of COVID-19 were identified via online media research. A rapid review of initial evidence on mental health consequences of the pandemic was performed in PubMed and medRxiv. Results By 21 April 2020 the case count in Austria was 14,810 after a peak of new daily infections mid-March. The RR of death for age ≥ 65 years was 80.07 (95% confidence interval, CI 52.64–121.80; p < 0.0001) compared to those aged < 65 years. In men the RR of death was 1.44 (95% CI 1.20–1.73; p < 0.0001) compared to women. Wide-ranging public health measures included avoidance of case importation, limitation of social contacts, hygiene measures, testing, case tracking, and the call for COVID-19-related research. International rates of psychiatric symptoms during the initial lockdowns exceeded typical levels: anxiety (6%–51%), depression (17%–48%) and posttraumatic stress (5%–54%). Conclusion Data show great vulnerability of older people also in Austria. Severe mental health impacts can be expected with need for proper assessment of the long-term consequences of this pandemic.

scholarly journals Quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to control COVID-19: a rapid review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Nussbaumer-Streit ◽  
Verena Mayr ◽  
Andreea Iulia Dobrescu ◽  
Andrea Chapman ◽  
Emma Persad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Health Measures

scholarly journals Impact of school closures and re-openings on COVID-19 transmission

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 515-523
Author(s):  
Maryem El Jaouhari ◽  
Rojiemiahd Edjoc ◽  
Lisa Waddell ◽  
Patricia Houston ◽  
Nicole Atchessi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Public Health Measure ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Health Measure ◽  
Education Of Students ◽  
Research Criteria ◽  
The Impact

Background: Globally, the education of students at primary and secondary schools has been severely disrupted by the implementation of school closures to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The effectiveness of school closures in reducing transmission of COVID-19 and the impact of re-opening schools are unclear. Methods: Research criteria for this rapid review included empirical studies, published or pre-published worldwide before January 25, 2021, that assessed the effectiveness of school closures in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of school re-openings on COVID-19 transmission. Results: Twenty-four studies on the impact of school closures and re-openings on COVID-19 transmission were identified through the seven databases that were searched. Overall the evidence from these studies was mixed and varied due to several factors such as the time of implementation of public health measures, research design of included studies and variability among the levels of schooling examined. Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest that school closures have limited impact on reducing COVID-19 transmission, with other non-pharmaceutical interventions considered much more effective. However, due to the limitations of the studies, further research is needed to support the use of this public health measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandemic Disease, Public Health, and Ethics

2019 ◽  
pp. 796-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell Smith ◽  
Ross Upshur
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Pandemic Preparedness ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Ethical Frameworks ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
The Face ◽  
Conducting Research

Infectious disease pandemics raise significant and novel ethical challenges to the organization and practice of public health. This chapter provides an overview of the salient ethical issues involved in preparing for and responding to pandemic disease, including those arising from deploying restrictive public health measures to contain and curb the spread of disease (e.g., isolation and quarantine), setting priorities for the allocation of scarce resources, health care workers’ duty to care in the face of heightened risk of infection, conducting research during pandemics, and the global governance of preventing and responding to pandemic disease. It also outlines ethical guidance from prominent ethical frameworks that have been developed to address these ethical issues and concludes by discussing some pressing challenges that must be addressed if ethical reflection is to make a meaningful difference in pandemic preparedness and response.

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