Academic Journal

Evaluating the effectiveness of lockdowns and restrictions during SARS-CoV-2 variant waves in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Evaluating the effectiveness of lockdowns and restrictions during SARS-CoV-2 variant waves in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia
المؤلفون: Gustavo Sganzerla Martinez, Benjamin Hewins, Jason J. LeBlanc, Pacifique Ndishimye, Ali Toloue Ostadgavahi, David J. Kelvin
المصدر: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 11 (2023)
بيانات النشر: Frontiers Media S.A., 2023.
سنة النشر: 2023
المجموعة: LCC:Public aspects of medicine
مصطلحات موضوعية: mobility data, surveillance, infectious diseases, lockdown, COVID-19, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270
الوصف: IntroductionAfter the initial onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the government of Canada and provincial health authorities imposed restrictive policies to limit virus transmission and mitigate disease burden. In this study, the pandemic implications in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia (NS) were evaluated as a function of the movement of people and governmental restrictions during successive SARS-CoV-2 variant waves (i.e., Alpha through Omicron).MethodsPublicly available data obtained from community mobility reports (Google), the Bank of Canada Stringency Index, the “COVID-19 Tracker” service, including cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and vaccines, population mobility trends, and governmental response data were used to relate the effectiveness of policies in controlling movement and containing multiple waves of SARS-CoV-2.ResultsOur results indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic inflicted low burden in NS in the initial 2 years of the pandemic. In this period, we identified reduced mobility patterns in the population. We also observed a negative correlation between public transport (−0.78), workplace (−0.69), retail and recreation (−0.68) and governmental restrictions, indicating a tight governmental control of these movement patterns. During the initial 2 years, governmental restrictions were high and the movement of people low, characterizing a ‘seek-and-destroy’ approach. Following this phase, the highly transmissible Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant began circulating in NS at the end of the second year, leading to increased cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. During this Omicron period, unsustainable governmental restrictions and waning public adherence led to increased population mobility, despite increased transmissibility (26.41-fold increase) and lethality (9.62-fold increase) of the novel variant.DiscussionThese findings suggest that the low initial burden caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was likely a result of enhanced restrictions to contain the movement of people and consequently, the spread of the disease. Easing public health restrictions (as measured by a decline in the BOC index) during periods of high transmissibility of circulating COVID-19 variants contributed to community spread, despite high levels of immunization in NS.
نوع الوثيقة: article
وصف الملف: electronic resource
اللغة: English
تدمد: 2296-2565
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1142602/full; https://doaj.org/toc/2296-2565
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1142602
URL الوصول: https://doaj.org/article/1f4508b4815f4b10bb2312145f7b1a81
رقم الانضمام: edsdoj.1f4508b4815f4b10bb2312145f7b1a81
قاعدة البيانات: Directory of Open Access Journals
الوصف
تدمد:22962565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1142602