Editorial JTH 16 –The Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 and implications for transport and health

Abstract

generated by the novel human Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, countries across the world are taking measures in order to reduce the effects, or at least to slow it down, in order to better cope with public health and better manage its limited resources. Human-to-human transmissions of SARS-CoV-2 have been described with incubation times between 2-10 days, facilitating its spread via droplets, contaminated hands or surfaces (Kampf et al., 2020). While limited knowledge is available about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we have some experience with other infectious diseases that might have some similar characteristics. Hypermobility and the spread of diseaseRelevant to transport and health is how our hypermobile society spreads such a disease so quickly. Despite the early evidence to show that the human-to-human transmission of rates of COVID-19 is lower than SARS (Cascella et al., 2020), compared with its respiratory disease family, SARS and MERS, Peeri et al. (2020) show that COVID-19 has spread more rapidly, due in part to increased globalisation and the first epicentre's (Wuhan) accessibility. Wu, J. T. et al. (2020) argue that the abundance of connecting flights, the timing of the outbreak during the Chinese New Year, and the extraordinary rail accessibility of Wuhan to the rest of China has enabled the virus to spread throughout the country, and eventually, globally, in a very short time.We are so connected to one another across the globe for work, for leisure and to stay connected to families and friends. The success of our transport system in terms of mobility and safety means we've become used to taking long haul flights and world cruises with little regard for potential negative side effects. Data from Statistica (2020), show that the number of passengers on scheduled commercial airlines have increased 137% in the past 15 years (Mazareanu, 2020). Although the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has been warned about in the past, the timing and trajectory of it is something very hard to predict. But we have become so blas� e to the negative side effects of large scale travel and mobility that we consider it normal to do long journeys and expect little to no negative externalities or that someone else is taking care of those, whether they are pollution, injuries, or the break-up of local communities. Effects of curtailing transportIn addition, we see the mass consequences of having to curtail mobility with many countries introducing lock-downs with significant repercussions for work, but also for fulfilling everyday duties, getting shopping in and seeing friends and family. Who knows at the moment how long such a lock down will last in many countries, and further what effect it will have on changing our mobility

Social and Travel Lockdown Impact Considering Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on Air Quality in Megacities of India: Present Benefits, Future Challenges and Way Forward

“…Furthermore, reviving the economy is going to be the topmost priority of the government, which might forego the environmental benefits gained amidst the lockdown period. • Experts highlighted that the COVID-19 situation gave a lot of opportunities to reform our existing infrastructure and policies to make the system more resilient and to adapt to such incidents in the future (Musselwhite et al, 2020). For examples, the government can encourage egovernance initiatives, encourage work from home policy for corporates and various other businesses, improved health infrastructure to tackle such issues, invest in Table 2.…”

COVID-19 Outbreak in Colombia: An Analysis of Its Impacts on Transport Systems

“…One of the first measures adopted by most of the governments after the WHO declaration was associated with international travel bans and border control actions [17]. e principal cause for the unstoppable spread of COVID-19 is our hypermobile society [18]. Globalisation and our massive transport systems, especially aeroplanes and transoceanic cruises, easily expose individuals to human-to-human virus transmission and are highly responsible for the fast spread of contagious epidemic diseases globally [9].…”

Decline in Mobility: Public Transport in Poland in the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Confined and crowded environments, including transport hubs, that are visited by people daily can become hot-spots for spreading infectious diseases (Goscé and Johansson 2018;Browne et al 2016;Morawska et al 2020). Public transportation vehicles, particularly buses, trams, trains and metros, which are used daily by millions of people, might contribute to the spread of infectious diseases among their users (Musselwhite et al 2020;Troko et al 2011). However, only a paucity of evidence describes SARS and MERS coronaviruses transmission events linked to transportation systems or hubs (Browne et al 2016).…”

“…Linka et al (2020) suggest that an unconstrained mobility would have significantly accelerated the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Central Europe, Spain and France. According to Muller et al (2020) and Musselwhite et al (2020) public transport plays a significant role in the spread of infectious diseases, thus attempts to control the spread of infections via public transportation reduces the infection speed. On the other hand, researchers examine how the COVID-19 pandemic, the accompanying combination of government restrictions and social fears of contracting and spreading COVID-19 when using mass transport modes reduce passenger transport demand and worsen the overall situation in transport.…”