Keeping Low Reproductive Number Despite the Rebound Population Mobility in Korea, a Country Never under Lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kim, Soyoung; Kim, Yae Jean; Peck, Kyong Ran; Ko, Youngsuk; Lee, Jonggul; Jung, Eunok

doi:10.3390/ijerph17249551

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…South Korea was the third country to report a confirmed case of COVID-19 outside of China [4]. Since February 2020, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has implemented stringent social distancing measures and restricted everyday socioeconomic activities [5]. In accordance with government guidelines, information regarding COVID-19 was distributed in real time through news and social media platforms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Associated with Mental Health among International Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

Kim

2021

IJERPH

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The purpose of this study was to investigate mental health problems among international students in South Korean universities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify the factors that affect their mental health. A total of 488 international students living in South Korea participated in a web-based survey. The questionnaire was created using the Google Forms platform, and a link to the questionnaire was shared through social media. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the data. The prevalence rates of sleep problems, anxiety, and depression among international students were 47.1%, 39.6%, and 49%, respectively. The prevalence of mental health problems was higher among participants who were male, living with someone, residents of a rural area, and earning a higher income. The following variables were found to contribute to the prevalence of mental health problems: undergraduate student status, good understanding of the Korean language, longer hours of media usage, and experiences related to COVID-19 infection. A collaborative effort between the government and universities to manage the mental health of international students could promote the mental health of these students.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Associated with Mental Health among International Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

Kim

2021

IJERPH

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“… 5 Korea was one out of the rare countries never under lockdown to succeed controlling the first wave to a manageable level, due to public compliance in following personal hygiene principles and social distancing. 6 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Curfew Effective in Limiting SARS-CoV-2 Progression? An Evaluation in France Based on Epidemiokinetic Analyses

Mégarbane

Bourasset²,

Scherrmann

2021

J GEN INTERN MED

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Background Since late summer 2020, the French authorities implemented a curfew/lightened lockdown-alternating strategy instead of strict lockdown, to improve acceptability and limit socioeconomic consequences. However, data on curfew-related efficacy to control the epidemic are scarce. Objective To investigate the effects on COVID-19 spread in France of curfew combined to local and/or nationwide restrictions from late summer 2020 to mid-February 2021. Design We conducted a comparative evaluation using a susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR)–based model completed with epidemiokinetic tools. Main Measures We analyzed the time-course of epidemic progression rate under curfew in French Guyana and five metropolitan regions where additional restrictions were implemented at different times. Using linear regressions of the decay/increase rates in daily contaminations, we calculated the epidemic regression half-lives (t 1/2β ) for each identified period. Key Results In French Guyana, two decay periods with rapid regression (t 1/2β of ~10 days) were observed under curfew, with slowing (t 1/2β of ~43 days) when curfew was lightened. During the 2-week pre-lockdown curfew (2020/10/17–2020/11/02) in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Ile-de-France, the epidemic progression was unchanged. During the post-lockdown curfew (2020/12/15–2020/02/14), the epidemic slowly regressed in Grand-Est (t 1/2β of ~37 days), whereas its progression rate plateaued in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and increased immediately in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Ile-de-France, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, whatever the curfew starting time was (06:00 or 08:00 pm). Interestingly, a delayed slow decay (17 days < t 1/2β < 64 days) occurred under curfew in all regions except Ile-de-France. Conclusions Curfew allowed the temporary control of SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, however variably in the French regions, without preventing lockdown necessity. To accelerate the epidemic regression such as observed in French Guyana, curfew should be implemented timely with additional restrictions.

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“…From 23 March to 19 April, enhanced social distancing was implemented. The details of each policy in Korea were explained in [ 20 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Important Is Behavioral Change during the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Mathematical Modeling Study

Lee

Jung

2021

IJERPH

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How important is the speed and intensity of behavioral change due to government policies, such as enhanced social distancing or lockdown, when an emerging infectious disease occurs? In this study, we introduce a deterministic SEIR model considering the behavior-changed susceptible group to investigate the effect of the speed and intensity of behavioral change on the transmission dynamics of COVID-19. We used epidemiological data from South Korea and Italy for the simulation study, because South Korea and Italy were the first countries to report an outbreak of COVID-19 after China and the prevention and response policy of each government were similar during the first outbreak of COVID-19. Simulation results showed that it took approximately twenty fewer days in Korea than in Italy until 90% of susceptible individuals changed their behavior during the first outbreak. It was observed that the behavior-changed susceptible individuals reduced the COVID-19 transmission rate by up to 93% in Korea and 77% in Italy. Furthermore, if the intensity and speed of behavioral change in Italy were the same as in Korea, the expected number of cumulative confirmed cases would have been reduced by approximately 95%, from 210,700 to 10,700, until the end of the lockdown period. We assumed that behavioral change is influenced by the number of confirmed cases and does not take into account social and cultural differences, as well as the state of the healthcare system, between the two countries. Our mathematical modeling showed how important the high intensity and fast speed of behavioral change to reduce the number of confirmed cases in the early period of an epidemic are.

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Keeping Low Reproductive Number Despite the Rebound Population Mobility in Korea, a Country Never under Lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 22 publications

References 8 publications

Factors Associated with Mental Health among International Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

Factors Associated with Mental Health among International Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

Is Curfew Effective in Limiting SARS-CoV-2 Progression? An Evaluation in France Based on Epidemiokinetic Analyses

How Important Is Behavioral Change during the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Mathematical Modeling Study

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