scholarly journals Impacts of Regional Lockdown Policies on COVID-19 Transmission in India in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aarushi Kalra ◽  
Paul Novosad
Keyword(s):  
District Level ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Regression Approach ◽  
Effect Regression ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Death Count ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

Objective: To assess the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the first wave of COVID transmission and fatalities in India. Methods: We collected data on NPIs, using government notifications and news reports, in six major Indian states from March to August 2020, and we matched these with district-level data on COVID related deaths and Google Mobility reports. We used a district fixed effect regression approach to measure the extent to which district-level lockdowns and mobility restrictions helped reduce deaths in 2020. Results: In most states, COVID deaths grew most rapidly only after the initial lockdown was lifted. District-level NPIs were associated with a statistically significantly lower COVID death count in three out of five sample states (district analysis was not possible in Delhi) and in the aggregate. Interventions that were most associated with slowing fatalities were temple closures, retail closures, and curfews. Discussion: Outside of Maharashtra (the first state struck) the first fatality wave appears to have been delayed by the national lockdown. Indias NPIs, however incomplete, were successful in delaying or limiting COVID-19 deaths. Even with incomplete compliance, limiting mass gatherings in face of incipient viral waves may save lives.

scholarly journals Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 in Europe in 2020: a quasi-experimental non-equivalent group and time series design study

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (28) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R Hunter ◽  
Felipe J Colón-González ◽  
Julii Brainard ◽  
Steven Rushton
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions ◽  
At Home

Introduction The current pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is unparalleled in recent history as are the social distancing interventions that have led to a considerable halt on the economic and social life of so many countries. Aim We aimed to generate empirical evidence about which social distancing measures had the most impact in reducing case counts and mortality. Methods We report a quasi-experimental (observational) study of the impact of various interventions for control of the outbreak through 24 April 2020. Chronological data on case numbers and deaths were taken from the daily published figures by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and dates of initiation of various control strategies from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation website and published sources. Our complementary analyses were modelled in R using Bayesian generalised additive mixed models and in STATA using multilevel mixed-effects regression models. Results From both sets of modelling, we found that closure of education facilities, prohibiting mass gatherings and closure of some non-essential businesses were associated with reduced incidence whereas stay-at-home orders and closure of additional non-essential businesses was not associated with any independent additional impact. Conclusions Our findings are that schools and some non-essential businesses operating ‘as normal’ as well as allowing mass gatherings were incompatible with suppressing disease spread. Closure of all businesses and stay at home orders are less likely to be required to keep disease incidence low. Our results help identify what were the most effective non-pharmaceutical interventions in this period.

scholarly journals Economic Restrictions and Currency Performance: Evidence of African Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Adegboye ◽  
Ochei Ikpefan ◽  
Adebusola Oyegoke ◽  
Stephen OJEKA ◽  
Ibukunoluwa Adeyanju
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Exchange Rates ◽  
Policy Implication ◽  
Real Exchange Rates ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Regression Approach ◽  
Effect Regression ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This study explores the impact of diverse economic restrictions on currency performance. We assess a panel dataset of 30 African countries for the period 1990–2010. Our empirical evidence is based on the fixed effect regression and the Quantile regression approach. We find that the United States, European Union, economic and intensity sanctions weaken the real exchange rates. However, we establish that the U.N. sanctions are insignificant. As for the policy implication, sanctioned countries should implement a policy that could mitigate the adverse consequences of economic restrictions on currency performance.

scholarly journals Face Masks, Public Policies and Slowing the Spread of COVID-19: Evidence from Canada

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Karaivanov ◽  
Shih En Lu ◽  
Hitoshi Shigeoka ◽  
Cong Chen ◽  
Stephanie Pamplona
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Location Data ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Policy Simulations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Province Level ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

Abstract We estimate the impact of indoor face mask mandates and other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) on COVID-19 case growth in Canada. Mask mandate introduction was staggered over two months in the 34 public health regions in Ontario, Canada. Using this variation, we find that mask mandates are associated with a 25 percent or larger weekly reduction in new COVID-19 cases in July and August, relative to the trend in absence of mandate. Province-level data provide corroborating evidence. We control for factors such as mobility (using Google geo-location data) and past cases. Our analysis of additional survey data shows that mask mandates led to an increase of about 30 percentage points in self-reported mask wearing in public. Counterfactual policy simulations suggest that mandating indoor masks nationwide in early July could have reduced new COVID-19 cases in Canada by 25 to 40 percent in mid-August (700 to 1,100 fewer cases per week).

scholarly journals Measuring the impact of suspending Umrah, a global mass gathering in Saudi Arabia on the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sultanah M. Alshammari ◽  
Waleed K. Almutiry ◽  
Harsha Gwalani ◽  
Saeed M. Algarni ◽  
Kawther Saeedi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Preventative Measures ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Travel Restrictions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Travel Restriction ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

AbstractSince the early days of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, Saudi Arabia started to implement several preventative measures starting with the imposition of travel restrictions to and from China. Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, and with the first confirmed case in Saudi Arabia in March 2019, more strict measures, such as international travel restriction, and suspension or cancellation of major events, social gatherings, prayers at mosques, and sports competitions, were employed. These non-pharmaceutical interventions aim to reduce the extent of the epidemic due to the implications of international travel and mass gatherings on the increase in the number of new cases locally and globally. Since this ongoing outbreak is the first of its kind in the modern world, the impact of suspending mass gatherings on the outbreak is unknown and difficult to measure. We use a stratified SEIR epidemic model to evaluate the impact of Umrah, a global Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, on the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during the month of Ramadan, the peak of the Umrah season. The analyses shown in the paper provide insights into the effects of global mass gatherings such as Hajj and Umrah on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic locally and globally.

scholarly journals Post-intervention Epidemiology of STH in Bangladesh: data to sustain the gains

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjaya Dhakal ◽  
Mohammad Jahirul Karim ◽  
Abdullah Al Kawsar ◽  
Jasmine Irish ◽  
Mujibur Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
District Level ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Community Impact ◽  
School Based ◽  
Flood Zone ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Stool Samples ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroductionIn 2008, Bangladesh initiated Preventive Chemotherapy (PCT) for school-age children (SAC) through bi-annual school-based mass drug administration (MDA) to control Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) infections. In 2016, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Program on Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination and STH (ELFSTH) initiated district-level community impact assessments with Children Without Worms (CWW) using standardized, population-based sampling to measure the post-intervention STH burden across all ages (≥ 1 yr) for the three STH species.Methods & Principal FindingsThe Integrated Community-based Survey for Program Monitoring (ICSPM) was developed by CWW and was used to survey 12 districts in Bangladesh from 2017 – 2020. We combined the individual demographic and parasite-specific characteristics from 10 districts and linked them with the laboratory data for collective analysis. Our analysis identified district-specific epidemiologic findings, important for program decisions.Of the 17,874 enrolled individuals, 10,824 (61%) provided stool samples. Overall, the prevalence of any STH species was substantially reduced to 14% from 79.8% in 2005. The impact was similar across all ages. STH prevalence was below 10% in 10 districts collectively, but remained high in 4 districts, despite their high reported PCT coverage in previous years. Among all, Bhola district was unique because it was the only district with high Trichuris prevalence.ConclusionBangladesh successfully lowered STH prevalence across all ages despite targeting SAC only. Data from the survey indicate significant number of adults and pre-school age children (PSAC) were self-deworming with purchased pills. This may account for the flat impact curve across all ages. Overall prevalence varied across surveyed districts, with persistent high transmission in the northeastern districts and a district in the central flood zone, indicating possible service and ecological factors. Discrepancies in the impact between districts highlight the need for district-level data to evaluate program implementation after consistent high PCT coverage.Authors SummaryBangladesh government conducted school-based mass drug administration (MDA) for over 10 years to control soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections. School-based evaluations of MDA indicate a reduction in STH burden among school-aged children (SAC). To further assess the impact on the community, Children Without Worms and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Program on Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination and STH (ELFSTH) initiated district-level community impact surveys in 12 districts. We share the results from the latter 10 districts here.Our analysis of 10,824 interviews and stool samples from 10 districts showed an estimated 14% of community members infected with at least one species of STH. This finding is substantially lower than the baseline STH prevalence (79.8%) estimated in 2005. Bangladesh’s successful impact was achieved across all ages despite only treating SAC. Deworming source data showed significant numbers of adults and pre-school age children (PSAC) self-dewormed with locally purchased pills. Prevalence varied across the surveyed districts, with persistent high transmission in the northeastern districts and a district in the central flood zone, indicating possible ecological and service factors contributing to persistent infections. Discrepancies in the impact across districts highlights the need for sub-national level data to evaluate program performance fllowing consistent high intervention.

scholarly journals CAN-NPI: A Curated Open Dataset of Canadian Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions in Response to the Global COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam G. McCoy ◽  
Jonathan Smith ◽  
Kavya Anchuri ◽  
Isha Berry ◽  
Joanna Pineda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Development ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Initial Dataset ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

AbstractNon-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been the primary tool used by governments and organizations to mitigate the spread of the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. Natural experiments are currently being conducted on the impact of these interventions, but most of these occur at the subnational level - data not available in early global datasets. We describe the rapid development of the first comprehensive, labelled dataset of 1640 NPIs implemented at federal, provincial/territorial and municipal levels in Canada to guide COVID-19 research. For each intervention, we provide: a) information on timing to aid in longitudinal evaluation, b) location to allow for robust spatial analyses, and c) classification based on intervention type and target population, including classification aligned with a previously developed measure of government response stringency. This initial dataset release (v1.0) spans January 1st, and March 31st, 2020; bi-weekly data updates to continue for the duration of the pandemic. This novel dataset enables robust, inter-jurisdictional comparisons of pandemic response, can serve as a model for other jurisdictions and can be linked with other information about case counts, transmission dynamics, health care utilization, mobility data and economic indicators to derive important insights regarding NPI impact.

The Impact of COVID-19 Quarantine on Children‘s Behaviors and Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 796-806
Author(s):  
Sana M Kamal ◽  
Ali Al-Samydai ◽  
Rudaina Othman Yousif ◽  
Talal Aburjai
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Child Psychology ◽  
Simple Random Sample ◽  
Community Pharmacies ◽  
The World ◽  
Female Children ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the world, which considered a relative of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), with possibility of transmission from animals to human and effect each of health and economic. Several preventative strategies and non-pharmaceutical interventions have been used to slow down the spread of COVID-19. The questionnaire contained 36 questions regarding the impact of COVID-19 quarantine on children`s behaviors and language have been distributed online (Google form). Data collected after asking parents about their children behavior during quarantine, among the survey completers (n=469), 42.3% were female children, and 57.7 were male children. Results showed that quarantine has an impact on children`s behaviors and language, where stress and isolationism has a higher effect, while social relations had no impact. The majority of the respondents (75.0%) had confidence that community pharmacies can play an important role in helping families in protection their children`s behaviors and language as they made the highest contact with pharmacists during quarantine. One of the main recommendations that could be applied to help parents protection and improvement their children`s behaviors and language in quarantine condition base on simple random sample opinion is increasing the role of community pharmacies inpatient counseling and especially towards children after giving courses to pharmacists in child psychology and behavior. This could be helpful to family to protect their children, from any changing in them behaviors and language in such conditions in the future if the world reface such the same problem.

scholarly journals Anthropogenic drought dominates groundwater depletion in Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samaneh Ashraf ◽  
Ali Nazemi ◽  
Amir AghaKouchak
Keyword(s):  
Economic Security ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
Groundwater Storage ◽  
Rates Of Change ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Storage Basin ◽  
Groundwater Reserves ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hydrological Droughts

AbstractUsing publicly-available average monthly groundwater level data in 478 sub-basins and 30 basins in Iran, we quantify country-wide groundwater depletion in Iran. Natural and anthropogenic elements affecting the dynamics of groundwater storage are taken into account and quantified during the period of 2002–2015. We estimate that the total groundwater depletion in Iran to be ~ 74 km3 during this period with highly localized and variable rates of change at basin and sub-basin scales. The impact of depletion in Iran’s groundwater reserves is already manifested by extreme overdrafts in ~ 77% of Iran’s land area, a growing soil salinity across the entire country, and increasing frequency and extent of land subsidence in Iran’s planes. While meteorological/hydrological droughts act as triggers and intensify the rate of depletion in country-wide groundwater storage, basin-scale groundwater depletions in Iran are mainly caused by extensive human water withdrawals. We warn that continuation of unsustainable groundwater management in Iran can lead to potentially irreversible impacts on land and environment, threatening country’s water, food, socio-economic security.

Housing Prices and Government Approval: The Impact of Housing Booms on Left- and Right-Wing Governments in 16 Advanced Industrialized Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-185
Author(s):  
Sung Min Han ◽  
Mi Jeong Shin
Keyword(s):  
Housing Prices ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this article, we argue that rising housing prices increase voter approval of incumbent governments because such a rise increases personal wealth, which leads to greater voter satisfaction. This effect is strongest under right-wing governments because those who benefit from rising prices—homeowners—are more likely to be right-leaning. Non-homeowners, who are more likely to vote for left-leaning parties, will view rising housing prices as a disadvantage and therefore feel the government does not serve them well, which will mitigate the advantage to left-wing governments. We find support for our arguments using both macro-level data (housing prices and government approval ratings in 16 industrialized countries between 1960 and 2017) and micro-level data (housing prices and individuals’ vote choices in the United Kingdom using the British Household Panel Survey). The findings imply that housing booms benefit incumbent governments generally and right-wing ones in particular.

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