The impact of social distancing on COVID-19 infections and deaths

Abstract

Background To assess the impact of the social isolation index on the number of infections and deaths by COVID-19 in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). Methods Daily isolation data, obtained through geolocation information by mobile phone, were evaluated together with the number of daily infections and deaths by COVID-19 in the state of São Paulo. The study was conducted from February 26 to May 19, 2020. The data were modeled through the vector autoregression (VAR) model. Results The isolation index has an effect of approximately 5% in variation in the number of infections, and 7% in the number of deaths. The impulse response function (IRF) caused a drop of 0.15% in the number of new cases/day, and 0.17% in the number of deaths/day following a shock in the isolation index. For both cases, this effect occurred 1 day after the shock and stabilized after 10 periods. An increase of 1% in the isolation index led to a reduction of 6.91% in new cases and 6.90% in the number of deaths. The 30 cumulative day reduction reached 22.72% in terms of transmission and 35.39% for deaths. Conclusions The social isolation index is related to deaths and infections from SARS-CoV-2. Although distancing measures are accompanied with impacts on the economy and the emergence of other morbidities, the benefits caused by the reduction in the speed of contagion are significant. The adoption of distancing measures has a substantial impact on the number of infected individuals and deaths by COVID-19.

Attitudes of Parents with Regard to Vaccination of Children against COVID-19 in Poland. A Nationwide Online Survey

“…Modern medicine remains helpless against SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes thousands of deaths in the world every day [ 1 , 2 ]. One of the most effective methods of protecting oneself against an infection is maintaining an adequate sanitary regime, including social distancing [ 3 ]. With time, however, there has been an increase in social backlash, which translates into reduced adherence to these rules and paves the way for the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the population [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].…”

“…One of the most effective methods of protecting oneself against an infection is maintaining an adequate sanitary regime, including social distancing [ 3 ]. With time, however, there has been an increase in social backlash, which translates into reduced adherence to these rules and paves the way for the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the population [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. This phenomenon is particularly visible among young people.…”

Effect of acute depression associated with COVID-19 infection on health-seeking behaviour: a psychiatrist's personal account and case report

“…Social distancing and restriction of social interaction slow the spread of COVID-19 by 'flattening the curve' [21][22][23] and thus decreasing mortality. [24][25][26] But they may also increase loneliness and reduce social support. 27,28 Social isolation is deleterious to health in general and the magnitude of risk associated with it is comparable with that of cigarette smoking and other major biomedical and psychosocial risk factors.…”

Internet addiction and mental health disorders in high school students in a Peruvian region: a cross-sectional study

“…More than 600 million confirmed cases and over 6 million deaths had been reported [ 2 ]. In Peru, containment measures were implemented to mitigate the increase in infections through social isolation and quarantines [ 3 ] due to its proven effects in reducing the number of infections and deaths [ 4 ]. However, these measures that keep people at home have conditioned the increased internet use through electronic devices (computers, cell phones, tablets or other devices with a screen) [ 5 ] that were established as the only means of communication, however, its excess leads to the consequent appearance of mental health disorders (anxiety and depression) [ 6 – 8 ], which occurs to a greater extent in adolescents due to their psychological vulnerability [ 9 ].…”