Psychological Impact and Compliance with Staying at Home of the Public to COVID-19 Outbreak during Chinese Spring Festival

In December 2019, COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China. Most of the studies related to the psychological impact and compliance with staying at home due to COVID-19 focused on ten days or one month after the initial “stay-at-home” phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The early psychological impact and behavior change to COVID-19 during the Chinese Spring Festival (the start time for recommendations to stay at home) is uncertain. In this study, people from 23 provinces in China were recruited to participate in an online survey, using Credamo. Psychological impact and compliance with staying at home were evaluated by a self-designed and validated questionnaire. The results indicated that anxiety was the most often reported feeling (mean: 3.69), followed by sadness (mean: 3.63). Participants employed in foreign-owned companies were most likely to express anxiety and sadness. Overall, 61.8% of participants reported hardly going out, whereas 2.4% said they frequently went out during the initial “stay-at-home” phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants with higher levels of anxiety and sadness were most likely to stay at home against the spread of COVID-19, as were female gender. This survey is an important study of the first reaction to staying at home during the initial “stay-at-home” phase coinciding with Chinese Spring Festival. Our findings identified factors associated with higher level of psychological impact and better compliance with staying at home recommendations during Chinese Spring Festival. The findings can be used to formulate precaution interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups and high uptake of policy during the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Stock Market in China

This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 on the stock ambiguity, risks, liquidity, and stock prices in China stock market, before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 during the Chinese Spring Festival holidays in 2020. We measure stock ambiguity using the intraday trading data. The outbreak of COVID-19 has a significant impact on the average stock ambiguity, risk, and illiquidity in China and induces structural break in the market average ambiguity. However, the equity premium and liquidity premium change little during the same period. The market average stock ambiguity and risks decrease, and stock liquidity improves to pre-pandemic levels as the pandemic is under control in China. The market average stock ambiguity and risks in China increase again when the confirmed new cases in the U.S. surge in the second half of 2020. We also find a “flight-to-liquidity” phenomenon, and the equally-weighted (value-weighted) 20-trading-day liquidity premium declined significantly to about –4.42% (–6.48%) during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Management of COVID-19 in Different Countries

Covid-19 is a category B type infection, but it has created a serious threat across the globe because the pandemic spread more quickly than any other in history. Before the spring festival, the epidemic in China just begun. Different measures, including mobilization of health care workers, building new hospitals and imposing the lockdown, were undertaken to minimize the spread. In South Korea, the measures were implemented under strong and coordinated government leadership. The developing countries, including India and Iran, have taken the steps like travel limitations, specified hospitals, testing laboratories, quarantine facilities, awareness campaigns and lockdown, which aided a great deal in taking the flooding tide of diseases back to a controllable level. Also, educational institutions, industrial establishments and hospitality services for other patients were suspended for the sake of critically ill Covid-19 patients.

Another New Year, Will the Chinese Residents Wear Face Masks Again? A Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: As more and more countries enter the low-transmission phase, maintaining prevention awareness among the population is critical to prevent a secondary outbreak. With large-scale interpersonal communication, whether Chinese residents can maintain a high awareness of prevention and control and adhere to the use of masks during the Chinese New Year of 2021 is worth studying.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in China from February 4 to 26, 2021. A convenient sampling strategy was adopted to recruit participators. Participants were asked to fill out the questions that assessed the questionnaire on face mask use. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the mask-wearing behaviors of the public. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors affecting mask-wearing behaviors.Results: A total of 2,361 residents filled out the questionnaire. In the mixed-effect logistic regression analysis, Chinese residents who were older (OR = 7.899, 95%CI = 4.183–14.916), employed (OR = 1.887, 95%CI = 1.373–2.594), had a chronic disease (OR = 1.777, 95%CI = 1.307–2.418), reused face masks (OR = 22.155, 95%CI = 15.331–32.016) and have read the face mask instructions (OR = 3.552, 95%CI = 1.989–6.341) were more likely to use face masks in interpersonal communication during the Spring Festival; while people who have breathing discomfort caused by face masks (OR = 0.556, 95%CI = 0.312–0.991) and considered that using masks repeatedly is wasteful (OR = 0.657, 95%CI = 0.482–0.895) were more unlikely to use face masks.Conclusions: Our results revealed that 83.86% of people wore face masks during the Chinese New Year; however, some aspects require further promotion. By investigating the use of masks by Chinese residents during the Spring Festival and its influencing factors, we can reflect the prevention awareness of the residents during the low transmission period of COVID-19, which can provide a reference for Chinese and global public health policymakers.

Spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of ground-level nitrogen dioxide and ozone across China during 2015-2020

In recent years, the emissions control in nitrogen oxides (NOx) was conducted across China, and how the concentrations of NOx and its product ozone (O3) in the atmosphere varied in space and time remains uncertain. Here, the spatial and temporal distributions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and O3 in 348 cities of China based on the hourly concentrations data during 2015-2020 were investigated, and the relationships among NO2, O3 and meteorological and socioeconomic parameters were explored. It is shown that higher NO2 and O3 concentrations were mainly distributed in North, East and Central China, where are economically developed and densely populated regions. The annual mean concentrations of NO2 increased by 4% from 2015 to 2017 but decreased by 17% from 2017 to 2020. The annual variations in O3 generally exhibited an upward trend in 2015-2019 but decreased by 5% from 2019 to 2020. 74% and 78% of cities had a decline in NO2 and O3 in 2020, respectively, compared to 2019, due to the limits of the motorized transports and industrial production activities during COVID-2019 lockdown. The monthly mean concentrations of NO2 showed an unusual decrease in February in all regions due to the reduced emissions during the Chinese Spring Festival holidays. Compared to 2019, the mean concentrations of NO2 in January, February and March, 2020 during COVID-2019 lockdown decreased by 16%, 28% and 20%, respectively, but O3 increased by 13%, 14% and -2%, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that NO2 and O3 concentrations are likely associated with anthropogenic emissions, including energy consumption, burning fossil fuel, and vehicle exhaust emissions. In addition, meteorological parameters can affect NO2 and O3 concentrations by influencing the production process, the diffusion and local accumulation and the regional circulations.

Data mining: traditional spring festival associated with hypercholesterolemia

Background Serum lipid concentrations are affected by long-term high-fat diets; thus, we hypothesize that lipid levels increase after the Spring Festival in China. Method In total, 20,192 individuals (male: n=10,108, female: n=10,084) were enrolled in this retrospective cross-sectional study based on clinical data from the Laboratory Information System (LIS) and Hospital Information System (HIS) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2014 to 2018. Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were analyzed. Results The serum TC [male vs. female: (4.71 ± 0.90 vs. 4.56 ± 0.85) mmol/L], TG [male vs. female: (1.71 ± 1.56 vs. 1.02 ± 0.68) mmol/L], and LDL-C [male vs. female: (3.01 ± 0.77 vs. 2.73 ± 0.74) mmol/L] levels were significantly higher in males than in females (P < 0.001); serum HDL-C [male vs. female: (1.18 ± 0.28 vs. 1.50 ± 0.34) mmol/L] was significantly lower in males (P < 0.001). In February, the TC, TG, and LDL-C levels were 8.4%, 16.3%, and 9.3% higher than the lowest levels recorded, respectively. The prevalence of dyslipidemia of the two weeks before the Spring festival was significantly lower than that of the first week after the Spring festival (43.6% (168/385) vs. 54.1% (126/233), P=0.007). Additionally, the prevalence of dyslipidemia was statistically higher in the first week after the Spring Festival than in May–January. Conclusion Higher TC, TG, and LDL-C in winter could be associated with high-fat diets during the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival was immediately followed by a higher lipid concentrations. Thus, we don't recommend lipid assessment or physical examination immediately after the holiday especially Spring festival.

Design and Development of Smoke-Free Homestay Inn in the Post-Pandemic Era

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the tourism industry has been hit hard, especially the homestay inn market has shrunk sharply. In China, people actively implement the Chinese government's relevant policies for pandemic prevention and control, rationally arrange travel, and strictly implement corresponding protective measures. These policies have greatly reduced the number and frequency of people's travel. Before the flu broke out, major holidays, such as the Spring Festival, Mid- Autumn Festival, Winter and Summer vacations, were peak tourist seasons. Now the entire tourist market is in a state of depression. Tourists canceled their travel plans one after anther, which indirectly caused a large number of homestay inns to be unable to operate, and they had no choice but to close their stores to reduce expenses. Under this situation, the problems of the homestay inn industry itself are gradually exposed. The decoration styles of the homestay inn are similar, and the homogeneity is becoming more and more serious. Simple imitating and copying have no characteristics at all. Unclear price and low service quality also reflect management confusion. What's more serious is that some homestays do not have fire-fighting systems such as smoke alarms, and guests smoking in the rooms cause huge safety hazards. With the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control work, the revival of the homestay inn industry is ushering in. It has become a top priority to improve quality, brand image, and develop its own cultural IP. This article will combine an architectural project in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, to study and explore the design of smoke-free homestay inn. Through the installation of smoke alarm system and fresh air system and other equipment, the circulation of indoor and outdoor air is ensured, and a smoke-free environment is created to ensure the safety and comfort of guests. And combine regional characteristics to deeply explore local culture and its own characteristics, and create a vibrant and creative brand image to meet people's growing spiritual needs.