Abstract
Along with the major impact on public health, the COVID-19 outbreak has caused unprecedented concerns ranging from sudden loss of employment to mental stress and anxiety. We implemented a survey-based data collection platform to characterize how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the socio-economic, physical and mental health conditions of individuals. We focused on three broad areas, namely, changes in social interaction during home confinement, economic impact and their health status. We identified a substantial increase in virtual interaction among individuals, which might be a way to alleviate the sudden unprecedented mental health burden, exacerbated by general awareness about viral infections or other manifestations associated with them. The majority of participants (85%) lived with one or more companions and unemployment issues did not affect 91% of the total survey takers, which was one of the crucial consequences of the pandemic. Nevertheless, measures such as an increased frequency of technology-aided distant social interaction, focus on physical fitness and leisure activities were adopted as coping mechanisms during this period of home isolation. Collectively, these metrics provide a succinct and informative summary of the socio-economic and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the individuals. Findings from our study reflect that continuous surveillance of the psychological consequences for outbreaks should become routine as part of preparedness efforts worldwide. Given the limitations of analyzing the large number of variables, we have made the raw data publicly available on the OMF ME/CFS Data Center server to facilitate further analyses (https://igenomed.stanford.edu/dataset/survey-study-on-lifestyle-changes-during-covid-19-pandemic).
Highlights
The novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China, in early December of 2019 and is known to cause mild to severe respiratory illness when transmitted to humans [1]
Due to its similarity in the symptoms with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), this novel infectious virus was named as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease was named as Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19 [7]
All the raw data are available on the Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Data Center server, including data collected after August 5, 2020
Summary
The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China, in early December of 2019 and is known to cause mild to severe respiratory illness when transmitted to humans [1]. With the progression of this pandemic since over an year, emerging studies suggest that the novel variants of SARS-CoV2 virus including the B.1.1.7 variant may be significantly more transmissible and infectious outcompeting the preexisting variants [17]. As a safety measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, social distancing and home isolation strategies including closing schools, offices, factories and other public places had been adopted globally These strategies have proven to reduce cross-infection effectively [21]. Due to the lockdown policies, the government of respective countries had to close schools and colleges, lay off individuals from jobs or overwork healthcare workers for treatment of the infection surge These unprecedented actions have led to an inevitable change in social practices and norms.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
