Abstract
Non-pharmacological interventions including mobility restriction have been developed to curb transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We provided precise estimates of disease burden and examined the impact of mobility restriction on reducing the COVID-19 effective reproduction number in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study involved secondary analysis of open-access COVID-19 data obtained from different sources between 2 March and 26 December 2020. The dependent and main independent variables of interest were the effective reproduction number and anonymized mobility indices, respectively. Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between the community mobility change and the effective reproduction number for COVID-19. By 26 December 2020, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia reached 360,690, with a cumulative incidence rate of 105.41/10,000 population. Al Jouf, Northern Border, and Jazan regions were ≥2.5 times (OR = 2.93; 95% CI: 1.29–6.64), (OR = 2.50; 95% CI: 1.08–5.81), and (OR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.09–5.79) more likely to have a higher case fatality rate than Riyadh, the capital. Mobility changes in public and residential areas were significant predictors of the COVID-19 effective reproduction number. This study demonstrated that community mobility restrictions effectively control transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an ongoing global public health crisis, has engulfed the lives of 5.5 million people to date [1]
In Africa, a study conducted involving 26 countries reported that a reduction in public spaces mobility is an effective COVID-19 containment strategy [9]
These community reports are an aggregate of anonymized data collected by the Google team to provide insight into changing community mobility initiated by the policy developed to stem the transmission of COVID-19
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an ongoing global public health crisis, has engulfed the lives of 5.5 million people to date [1]. The natural history including the etiology, transmission pattern, symptomatology, treatment, and prevention of COVID19 have been well documented [1–4]. It has significantly and negatively impacted the wellbeing of individuals, organizations, communities, and systems [1–4]. In an Omani study, mobility restrictions in the form of evening lockdowns significantly affected the course of the pandemic in the country [7]. In a United States study mobility restrictions were observed as a consequence and means of curbing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 [8]. In Africa, a study conducted involving 26 countries reported that a reduction in public spaces mobility is an effective COVID-19 containment strategy [9]
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