Result for
Topic: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions
May 8, 2020
Quantifying the Social Distancing Privilege Gap: a Longitudinal Study of Smartphone Movement
Using location data from more than 65 million mobile device traces, researchers explored associations between declines in mobility and various healthcare and economic indicators. They observed strong linear gradients in privilege, such that counties in the highest quintile of social distancing mobility restriction had 52% fewer uninsured, 47% more primary care providers, 29% more exercise space, 27% lower food insecurity, 26% less child…
May 7, 2020
Impact of Policy Interventions and Social Distancing on SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the United States
Dreher et al. conducted a state-level analysis using regression models with primary outcomes defined as the average effective reproductive number (Rt) in the week after the state reached 500 cases and doubling time from 500 to 1000 cases. After controlling for population density, GDP, and health metrics, they found that having a stay-at-home order in place at the time of the 500th case was significantly associated…
The Use of Facemasks by the General Population to Prevent Transmission of Covid 19 Infection A Systematic Review
A systematic literature review on the role of surgical and cloth face masks in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses in community or experimental setting shows that early initiation of facemask use can prevent the spread of respiratory viruses. This is particularly true for viruses which can be transmitted by presymptomatic or asymptotic individuals, but utility is limited by inconsistent…
The COronovirus Pandemic Epidemiology (COPE) Consortium: A Call to Action
Collaborators from hospitals and research institutions across the country announce the COPE Consortium, a central component of which will be a COVID-19 Symptom Tracker mobile application, which will serve as a common data collection tool for epidemiological cohort studies gathering data on risk factors for COVID-19 susceptibility, clinical outcomes, and long-term physical, mental health, and financial sequelae. The COVID-19 Symptom Tracker app…
May 6, 2020
Effective Heat Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2
Wang et al. evaluate the stability of SARS-CoV-2 under four different heat conditions (37, 42, 56, 60°C) and report that the virus is stable at 37°C for at least 24 hours. However, heating at 56°C for 30 minutes effectively inactivates the virus while preserving the stability of viral RNA for further analysis in both human sera and sputum samples….
May 5, 2020
A Simple Model to Show the Relative Risk of Viral Aerosol Infection and the Benefit of Wearing Masks in Different Settings with Implications for Covid-19
Using parameters derived from literature, Barr describes a model to estimate the relative risk of aerosol from normal breathing in a variety of settings. The model indicates a multiplicative benefit of using cloth masks by both infected and uninfected individuals in three settings (car, small non-ventilated room, larger ventilated space). The model found that social distancing at 2 meters is effective but its benefit is time limited in confined areas. Use of…
Effectiveness of Ultraviolet-C Light and a High-Level Disinfection Cabinet for Decontamination of N95 Respirators
Cadnum et al. compared three decontamination methods for use on N95 respirator masks (n=3). A high-level disinfection cabinet that generates aerosolized peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide achieved disinfection with a 31-minute cycle. Ultraviolet-C light reduced contamination but did not meet pre-defined criteria for decontamination of the viruses (6 log10 reductions). Dry heat at 70° C for 30 minutes was not…
Effect of Ethanol Cleaning on the Permeability of FFP2 Mask
The effect of ethanol on the filtering properties of FFP2 masks was tested. The filtering properties of a mask are related to the size and tortuosity of the pores of the filter and are quantified by its permeability; damage to the filter will change its permeability. After six cleaning cycles, the permeability remains very close to the permeability before…
May 4, 2020
Population-Scale Testing Can Suppress the Spread of COVID-19
Authors in Sweden demonstrate that identification and isolation of the majority of infectious individuals (including those who are asymptomatic) by testing the entire population, repeatedly (i.e., through home test kits submitted by mail), would yield R0<1. False positives can be tolerated as this would simply result in unnecessary quarantine, and the authors model the impact of false negatives using both a standard epidemiological model…
May 1, 2020
The COVID-19 Epidemic, Its Mortality, and the Role of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions
This review discusses the importance of understanding the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 (e.g., using the basic reproduction number (R0) to estimate the overall number of people likely to be infected). Although there is considerable uncertainty, model-based predictions of changes in transmission over time can provide insights into the epidemiological situation, support policy makers to develop…
Previous page Next page