A Comparative Analysis of COVID-19 Physical Distancing Policies in Botswana, India, Jamaica, Mozambique, Namibia, Ukraine, and the United States

Abstract

Background. Understanding the differences in timing and composition of physical distancing policies is important to evaluate the early global response to COVID-19. A physical distancing intensity framework comprising 16 domains was recently published to compare physical distancing approaches between U.S. States. We applied this framework to a diverse set of low and middle-income countries (LMICs) (Botswana, India, Jamaica, Mozambique, Namibia, and Ukraine) to test the appropriateness of this framework in the global context and to compare the policy responses in this set of LMICs and with a sample of U.S. States during the first 100-days of the epidemic. Results. All six of the LMICs in our sample adopted wide ranging physical distancing policies. The highest peak daily physical distancing intensity in each country was: Botswana (4.60); India (4.40); Ukraine (4.40); Namibia (4.20); and Jamaica (3.80). The number of days each country stayed at peak intensity ranged from 12-days (Jamaica) to more than 67-days (Mozambique). We found some key similarities and differences, including substantial differences in whether and how countries expressly required certain groups to stay at home. We also found that the LMICs generally implemented physical distancing policies when there were few confirmed cases and the easing of physical distancing policies did not discernably correlate with change in COVID-19 incidence. The physical distancing responses in the LMIC sample were generally more intense than in a sample of U.S. States, but results vary depending on the U.S. State. For example, California had a peak intensity of 4.29, which would place California below the peak intensity for Botswana, India, and Ukraine but above Mozambique, Namibia and Jamaica. The U.S. State of Georgia had a peak intensity of 3.07, which would place it lower than all of the LMICs in this sample. The peak intensity for the U.S. 12-state average was 3.84, which would place it lower than every LMIC in this sample except Jamaica. Conclusion. This analysis helps to highlight the differing paths taken by the countries in this sample and may provide lessons to other countries regarding options for structuring physical distancing policies in response to COVID-19 and future outbreaks.

The significance of feeling safe for resilience of adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Data were collected over the period of March and October 2020. By March 2020, since the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared COVID-19 a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" on 30 January 2020 and a "pandemic" (p. 2) on 11 March 2020 (Lane et al, 2021, p. 2), all the countries considered in the current study already had introduced some policies and containment measures during (or before) the month of March 2020; details and timelines can be found at United Nations [UN] (2022) for Angolo, Nchanji and Lutomia (2021) for Eswatini, Lesotho, and Kenya, Lane et al (2021) for Mozambique and Namibia, and Haider et al (2020) for South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. As all countries were aware of the global public health emergency status and had implemented some level of response measures to address the pandemic's impact by the time of data collection, although we cannot measure how the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions may have impacted the adolescents' responses, the adolescents' experiences were captured in all nine counties under the shared knowledge and awareness of COVID-19's severity and implications.…”

Epidemiología sociocultural de la crisis del COVID-19

“…El confinamiento no fue la única medida tomada en Sudáfrica, también se cancelaron eventos públicos, se potenció el distanciamiento social y se bloqueó el transporte Mozambique, implementaron medidas de distanciamiento social antes de registrar su primer caso de COVID-19. (Lane et al, 2021). Botsuana decretó el estado de alarma e impuso el confinamiento domiciliario siguiendo las indicaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, favoreciendo el uso de mascarillas y el lavado frecuente de manos mediante el desarrollo de extensas campañas de información.…”

“…Las políticas sobre el distanciamiento social duraron comparativamente más en Mozambique que en otras muchas naciones, a pesar de que no requiriese que la población permaneciese en sus domicilios. También se adoptó una política inicial que prohibía el uso de motocicletas, bicicletas y servicios de taxi y limitaba los autobuses y minibuses a un tercio de ocupación, pero, tras múltiples protestas, esta política se relajó en cuestión de una semana (Lane et al, 2021)…”