BackgroundSaudi Arabia has recorded the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the Arab world. However, since September 2020 the number of cases has been falling steadily. Various factors may have been behind this success. Joinpoint software is a freely available program that allows the detection of statistically significant trends in data. This paper uses this tool to explore specifically the impact of domestic travel restrictions on the control of the pandemic.
MethodsData for COVID-19 cases were collected from 2 March 2020 until the first of August 2020. Data analysis was done for the country and four cities. Public perception of the severity of the pandemic was included by fitting time-dependent case fatality rate (CFR). The analysis detected joinpoints that were compared with key dates during which travel restrictions were imposed or relaxed.