COVID-19 and Importance of Social Distancing

Abstract

The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus also known as COVID-19 was declared as a public health emergency by the WHO where over a million people have been affected by the disease with over 50000 deaths till date. Social distancing is a method to minimize crowd interactions and prevent the spread of disease within groups of people. This is a common practice which has been carried out over generations to minimize the spread of virus by limiting its reproduction rate (R0) among communities. The article focuses on how social distancing has been used to deal previous pandemics globally and the issues that needs to be addressed to tackle the COVID-19 threat.

<p>Public Perceptions and Commitment to Social Distancing “Staying-at-Home” During COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey in Saudi Arabia</p>

“…5 In addition to its lack of effective vaccines or treatments, SARS-CoV-2 has high infectivity even before the onset of symptoms, which can take up to 14 days to manifest, 2,6 during which time transmission is possible. 1,2,7 Consequently, this pandemic has been announced as a high concern for health, with containing its spread worldwide proving an extremely challenging task. 1,8 Currently, health authorities are left with only preventive measures to tackle the spread of the pandemic.…”

“…1,9 A few measures, such as social distance, self-isolation, home-isolation and self-quarantine, have been introduced as feasible precautionary steps that can be implemented to limit, delay or flatten the reproduction rate (R0) of SARS-CoV-2. 7,10 These terms have showed up more frequently in the media and various scientific publications. [11][12][13] The exact definition of such terms overlap as they generally share similar meanings, which can emphasise the physical separation or distance between healthy people and individuals with confirmed or suspected infection.…”

“…[11][12][13] The exact definition of such terms overlap as they generally share similar meanings, which can emphasise the physical separation or distance between healthy people and individuals with confirmed or suspected infection. 2,7,9 Social distancing measures were used in the past to combat the spread of other viral and bacterial contagions, including the plague and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). 14 Implementing these measures and precautions in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has proven effective in controlling or containing this infection in China and other far eastern countries.…”

“…14 Implementing these measures and precautions in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has proven effective in controlling or containing this infection in China and other far eastern countries. 7 Even before the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the national authority closed shopping centres and suspended flights, face-to-face education and physical attendance at most governmental agencies as preventive steps. 6 Further precautions followed, entailing suspending prayers at mosques and implementing a lockdown in cities with high numbers of cases.…”

Artificial Intelligence for COVID-19: Rapid Review

“…Infrared thermal cameras used to screen the public for fever have been paired with AI-powered facial recognition systems to determine if individuals are wearing surgical masks [ 54 ]. A US-based computer vision startup has started offering a software that uses camera images to observe for compliance with social distancing rules [ 55 ]. With the proliferation of such technologies, it is increasingly evident that AI-based surveillance can greatly help with public health interventions that slow the spread of infection.…”