Impact Of Social Distancing Research Articles

Frequency and characteristics of falls in people living with and without multiple sclerosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional online survey

BackgroundPublic health responses to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) including lockdowns may negatively impact physical and mental functioning in clinical populations. People living with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be more susceptible to physical function deterioration while practicing social distancing. Recent reports have suggested that about 50% of people with MS (pwMS) decreased their leisure physical activity during COVID-19, and upwards of 30% reported decreased physical fitness levels. However, the impact of social distancing on adverse health-related outcomes such as falls has not received much scrutiny. Therefore, we explored the frequency and characteristics of falls experienced by people living with and without MS during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsTwo-hundred and thirty-nine individuals, including 106 pwMS (median age: 59 years) and 133 people living without MS (median age: 66 years) were recruited for this cross-sectional study. A snowball sampling strategy was used for online recruitment. Participants completed a customized falls questionnaire and the number of falls experienced (if any) during COVID-19 was recorded. Fall-related characteristics such as the timing, locations, activities undertaken before falling and consequences, as well as self-reported physical activity were also recorded. ResultsOverall, participants reported 232 falls (1.67 falls/person in pwMS and 0.41 falls/person in non-MS participants). People living with MS (pwMS) had a significantly higher frequency of falls (58.5% vs 21.8%; p< 0.001) and recurrent falls (45.3% vs 9.8%; p< 0.001) compared to non-MS participants. Additionally, pwMS reported a significantly higher proportion of in-home falls (83.9% vs 54.2%; p = 0.004), as well as a higher proportion of overall injuries (44.3% vs 12.5%, p< 0.001), fractures (5.7% vs 0.8%, p = 0.048), and healthcare utilization (9.4% vs 1.6%, p = 0.007) compared to non-MS participants. A similar proportion of pwMS (49.1%) and non-MS participants (52.2%) reported lower physical activity levels during COVID-19. ConclusionThis cross-sectional study revealed that pwMS remain at high risk of falls and fall-related outcomes during COVID-19. The high number of falls experienced by pwMS is of clinical concern considering the current strain on the healthcare system. Findings from this study highlight the importance of monitoring falls and the potential for telerehabilitation in persons with MS during COVID-19.

Impact of social distancing on the spread of common respiratory viruses during the coronavirus disease outbreak.

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing was effective in controlling disease spread across South Korea. The impact of national social distancing on the spread of common respiratory virus infections has rarely been investigated. We evaluated the weekly proportion of negative respiratory virus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results and weekly positive rates of each respiratory virus during the social distancing period (10th-41st weeks of 2020) and the corresponding period in different years, utilizing the national respiratory virus surveillance dataset reported by the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The proportions of negative respiratory virus PCR test results increased up to 87.8% and 86.1% during level 3 and level 2 of the social distancing period, respectively. The higher the level of social distancing, the higher the proportion of negative respiratory virus PCR test results. During the social distancing period, the mean weekly positive rates for parainfluenza virus, influenza virus, human coronavirus, and human metapneumovirus were significantly lower than those during the same period in 2015-2019 (0.1% vs. 9.3%, P <0.001; 0.1% vs. 7.2%, P <0.001; 0.4% vs. 2.3%, P <0.001; and 0.2% vs. 5.3%, P <0.001, respectively). The mean positive rate for rhinovirus/enterovirus during level 3 social distancing was lower than that in the same period in 2015-2019 (8.5% vs. 19.0%, P <0.001), but the rate during level 1 social distancing was higher than that in the same period in 2015-2019 (38.3% vs. 19.4%, P <0.001). The national application of social distancing reduced the spread of common respiratory virus infections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The psychosocial implications of social distancing for people with COPD: some exploratory issues facing a uniquely marginalised group during the COVID-19 pandemic

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an illness associated with intersectional poverty and stigma in old age; people with COPD are susceptible to anxiety, loneliness and isolation. People with COPD who contract COVID-19 are at high risk of serious complications, intensive medical needs and death and are, therefore, required to socially distance particularly assiduously. This paper offers an embodied phenomenological analysis of the emerging theoretical literature exploring the impact of social distancing upon people with COPD. Firstly, people with COPD are aware of how respiratory illness feels, are anxious about COVID-19 and afraid of being denied care. Future research might consider how people with COPD may be susceptible to “coronaphobia” and mental health consequences of the pandemic. Secondly, COPD tends to affect older people within the most intersectionally marginalised socioeconomic groups. Future research should remain mindful that people with COPD may be among the most lonely and least able to access health and social care services online than others. Thirdly, pandemics are known to intensify pre-existing social stigmas. Researchers and practitioners alike should be conscious that people with COPD may become increasingly stigmatised, especially those from intersectionally disadvantaged minorities.

COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL DISTANCING: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNICATION TO OVERCOME SOCIAL ISOLATION

Social distancing aims to reduce interactions between people in the wider community, where individuals may have been infected or are carriers but have not been identified so as not to be isolated. The impact of social distancing is social isolation due to reduced social interaction. Related to social distancing issues as the impact of infectious disease outbreak has the potential to cause social isolation, it is known that the development of information and communication technology can overcome social and spatial barriers of social interaction by enabling easier communication processes. The results revealed that the development of technology has an important role as a medium of communication in social distancing problems as the impact of infectious disease outbreak has the potential to cause social isolation.

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

BackgroundTo 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).MethodsDaily 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionsThe 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.

An audit of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the emotional wellbeing of children and parents with problematic severe asthma

COVID-19 pandemic and the associated redeployment of healthcare infrastructure had a significant impact on normal services. Amongst a cohort with severe asthma children and young persons, attending a regional service, this questionnaire explored the impact of the pandemic and associated lockdown on emotional well-being. &#x0D; Our findings suggest that there were significant anxieties associated with the ability to access primary and secondary care services, medication during the pandemic – lockdown, as well as the psychological impact of social distancing and missing school work for this cohort. There was a common perception that this had adversely impacted their asthma control, although this was not clinically correlated. &#x0D; Our results indicate the need for health care providers to be aware of the psychological impact on the emotional wellbeing of the pandemic and offer appropriate help and counselling as needed. A correlation with deteriorating asthma control may need to be explored.

Impacts of social distancing during the covid19 pandemic on the development of children with autism in Brazil

Introduction COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and its main symptoms are fever, dry cough and difficulty breathing. It spread to several countries, which led the World Health Organization to decree, on March 11, 2020, a pandemic state that deeply affected Brazil. Due to the impossibility of leaving the house, the routine of children with autism was changed. Children in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a qualitative deficit in social interaction. Clinical and daily observations reinforce several scientific studies that defend the importance of maintaining a routine as stable as possible for people with ASD, without this stability they may become emotionally disorganized, feel discomfort or even irritability.ObjectivesInvestigate the impact caused by social distancing on the development of children and adolescents with autism.MethodsAn online questionnaire based on the DIR/Floortime basic map of emotional functional capacity development was distributed in Brazil from April to May, 2020. The results were analyzed using SPSS software.ResultsResults obtained from 122 questionnaires showed that after 30 days of quarantine 20% of children no longer had the characteristic of being able to remain calm and organized for at least 2 minutes; 11% no longer initiates interactions with their parents; 27% demonstrated more protests and anger than before the social distancing; 18% demonstrated more emotions such as anger, fear and intimacy, 28% began to understand their limits and 12% of the children are using greater facial expression during the social distancing.ConclusionsThis study brings results that can help to understand the processes in a child with autism.

Lessons learned in the collection of convalescent plasma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BackgroundThe lack of definitive treatment or preventative options for COVID‐19 led many clinicians early on to consider convalescent plasma (CCP) as potentially therapeutic. Regulators, blood centres and hospitals worldwide worked quickly to get CCP to the bedside. Although response was admirable, several areas have been identified to help improve future pandemic management.Materials and methodsA multidisciplinary, multinational subgroup from the ISBT Working Group on COVID‐19 was tasked with drafting a manuscript that describes the lessons learned pertaining to procurement and administration of CCP, derived from a comprehensive questionnaire within the subgroup.ResultsWhile each country’s responses and preparedness for the pandemic varied, there were shared challenges, spanning supply chain disruptions, staffing, impact of social distancing on the collection of regular blood and CCP products, and the availability of screening and confirmatory SARS‐CoV‐2 testing for donors and patients. The lack of a general framework to organize data gathering across clinical trials and the desire to provide a potentially life‐saving therapeutic through compassionate use hampered the collection of much‐needed safety and outcome data worldwide. Communication across all stakeholders was identified as being central to reducing confusion.ConclusionThe need for flexibility and adaptability remains paramount when dealing with a pandemic. As the world approaches the first anniversary of the COVID‐19 pandemic with rising rates worldwide and over 115 million cases and 2·55 million deaths, respectively, it is important to reflect on how to better prepare for future pandemics as we continue to combat the current one.

Socially Distanced or Socially Connected? Well-being through ICT Usage among the Indian Elderly during COVID-19

The ageing of the national population along with the rapid diffusion of technological innovations necessitate it to turn our attention to the significance of considering the adoption of technology by the Indian elderly. The impact of social distancing and the role of technology on the everyday lives of the older people during the pandemic remain under-researched. The public health crisis created by COVID-19 has deepened the roots of digital divide by digitally marginalizing older people especially in the developing nations who often lack awareness, access and training to use technology. This study captures the success stories, ordeals or challenges faced by the older people in coping with social distancing measures through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Results of the qualitative in-depth interviews conducted on 30 professionals aged at least 60 years, residing in a metropolitan city in eastern India show that as the participants feel isolated, they reconfigure their traditional norms of face-to-face social interaction and rely upon their touchscreens and keyboards to continue everyday interaction, to work from home, access information and avail ‘essential services’. Apart from focusing on their impetus to adopt ICT, the study highlights the blocks in active usage of ICT namely attitudinal barriers, prior negative experience, concerns over cyber security, complicated technical instructions and lack of supportive learning environment. In order to create a technologically inclusive society for the older people, it is essential to cater to their unique needs and design elderly friendly technologies.

Data-driven optimized control of the COVID-19 epidemics

Optimizing the impact on the economy of control strategies aiming at containing the spread of COVID-19 is a critical challenge. We use daily new case counts of COVID-19 patients reported by local health administrations from different Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) within the US to parametrize a model that well describes the propagation of the disease in each area. We then introduce a time-varying control input that represents the level of social distancing imposed on the population of a given area and solve an optimal control problem with the goal of minimizing the impact of social distancing on the economy in the presence of relevant constraints, such as a desired level of suppression for the epidemics at a terminal time. We find that with the exception of the initial time and of the final time, the optimal control input is well approximated by a constant, specific to each area, which contrasts with the implemented system of reopening ‘in phases’. For all the areas considered, this optimal level corresponds to stricter social distancing than the level estimated from data. Proper selection of the time period for application of the control action optimally is important: depending on the particular MSA this period should be either short or long or intermediate. We also consider the case that the transmissibility increases in time (due e.g. to increasingly colder weather), for which we find that the optimal control solution yields progressively stricter measures of social distancing. We finally compute the optimal control solution for a model modified to incorporate the effects of vaccinations on the population and we see that depending on a number of factors, social distancing measures could be optimally reduced during the period over which vaccines are administered to the population.

The Influence of Social Distancing on COVID-19 Mortality in US Counties: Cross-sectional Study.

BackgroundPrevious studies on the impact of social distancing on COVID-19 mortality in the United States have predominantly examined this relationship at the national level and have not separated COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes from total COVID-19 deaths. This approach may obscure differences in social distancing behaviors by county in addition to the actual effectiveness of social distancing in preventing COVID-19 deaths.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the influence of county-level social distancing behavior on COVID-19 mortality (deaths per 100,000 people) across US counties over the period of the implementation of stay-at-home orders in most US states (March-May 2020).MethodsUsing social distancing data from tracked mobile phones in all US counties, we estimated the relationship between social distancing (average proportion of mobile phone usage outside of home between March and May 2020) and COVID-19 mortality (when the state in which the county is located reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 and up to May 31, 2020) with a mixed-effects negative binomial model while distinguishing COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes from total COVID-19 deaths and accounting for social distancing– and COVID-19–related factors (including the period between the report of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 and May 31, 2020; population density; social vulnerability; and hospital resource availability). Results from the mixed-effects negative binomial model were then used to generate marginal effects at the mean, which helped separate the influence of social distancing on COVID-19 deaths from other covariates while calculating COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people.ResultsWe observed that a 1% increase in average mobile phone usage outside of home between March and May 2020 led to a significant increase in COVID-19 mortality by a factor of 1.18 (P<.001), while every 1% increase in the average proportion of mobile phone usage outside of home in February 2020 was found to significantly decrease COVID-19 mortality by a factor of 0.90 (P<.001).ConclusionsAs stay-at-home orders have been lifted in many US states, continued adherence to other social distancing measures, such as avoiding large gatherings and maintaining physical distance in public, are key to preventing additional COVID-19 deaths in counties across the country.

A Rapid Review of the Detrimental Impact of Loneliness and Social Isolation in Caregivers of Older Adults

Introduction Loneliness is an important concern that negatively impacts individuals aged 60 and older and is seen in 43 percent of Americans within that age group (Donovan & Blazer, 2020; Gerst-Emerson & Jayawardhana, 2015). On the other hand, around 7.7 million people in the United States (US) aged 65 and older reported experiencing social isolation while severe isolation could be seen among 1.3 million people (Donovan & Blazer, 2020). Loneliness and social isolation are well-documented risk factors for poor mental and physical health in late life. To handle these issues, and other aging related challenges, elders often rely on their family for support. In fact, an estimated 41 million Americans are providing informal family caregiving. However, this comes at a cost as informal family caregiving for older adults has been found to detrimentally impact mental and physical health. Many caregivers are under the stress of tending to their loved ones as well as handling other responsibilities in their lives. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate the effects of loneliness not only among older adults, but also among caregivers. Although, caregiver burden has been linked to loneliness to date, no systematic review has explored this link. As such the current review seeks to explore the harmful impact associated with loneliness and social isolation among caregivers of older adults in an effort to increase awareness and understanding. Methods For this rapid review, source documents were identified through a computerized search using APA PsycInfo and Google Scholar bibliographical databases covering the years 2000 to 2020. The following keywords and combinations of these were used: “caregiving,” “caregiver,” “older adults,” “loneliness,” “social isolation,” and “health effects.” Relevant exclusion criteria were applied (i.e. children and young adults) and all English-language journal articles relating to the area of study were read. Results After a comprehensive review, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. Loneliness was associated with worse physical health, less physical activity, increased health visits, and social isolation as indicated by three articles in our review. Three articles discussed the influences and factors related to loneliness and social isolation while one article also assessed health behaviors in relation to loneliness and social isolation. Additionally, higher levels of loneliness were associated with older age, female gender, being unmarried, low socioeconomic status, and holding an ethnic minority identity. A total of five articles evaluated the impact of loneliness on either physical or psychological health or both. Within informal caregivers, loneliness was linked to decreased and dissatisfaction with social interactions, helplessness, and changes in usual routines or in the health status of their loved ones. Caregivers also experience increased stress and depressive/anxious symptoms and decreased subjective well-being and self-efficacy. Loneliness is considered to be the most central aspect in predicting low quality of life within caregivers. Conclusions Loneliness and social isolation are important matters to assess in older adults and caregivers due to their harmful impact on both physical and psychological wellbeing. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically changed the daily routine for individuals across the world. Vulnerable individuals, such as older adults and those with weakened immune systems and chronic conditions, are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. The US and government health agencies have implemented recommendations for social distancing. However, the relationship between the social isolation of older adults and their self-reported experiences of loneliness leads researchers to worry that the impact of social distancing is exacerbating these older adults’ experiences of loneliness. Although measures of social distancing are necessary to decrease risks of COVID-19 infection, it is critical to assess the current effects among older adults and their caregivers. Furthermore, additional research must be conducted in reference to the effects of loneliness among caregivers and on the consequences of loneliness in older adults as the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period continues. In order to implement possible interventions and better mitigate the rising rates of loneliness experienced by older adults and their caregivers, this topic needs to be thoroughly explored so the associated health consequences can be better understood and prepared for. Funding Not applicable.

Mathematical computations on epidemiology: a case study of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

The outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading at an unprecedented rate to the human populations and taking several thousands of life all over the world. Scientists are trying to map the pattern of the transmission of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Many countries are in the phase of lockdown in the globe. In this paper we predict about the effect of coronavirus COVID-19 and give a sneak peak when it will reduce the transmission rate in the world via mathematical modelling. In this research work our study is based on extensions of the well-known susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) family of compartmental models and later we observe the new model changes into (SEIR) without changing its physical meanings. The stability analysis of the coronavirus depends on changing of its basic reproductive ratio. The progress rate of the virus in the critically infected cases and the recovery rate have major roles to control this epidemic. The impact of social distancing, lockdown of the country, self-isolation, home quarantine and the wariness of global public health system have significant influence on the parameters of the model system that can alter the effect of recovery rates, mortality rates and active contaminated cases with the progression of time in the real world. The prognostic ability of mathematical model is circumscribed as of the accuracy of the available data and its application to the problem.

Transfusion profile, clinical characteristics, comorbidities and outcomes of 3014 hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Brazil.

BackgroundThe novel coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) caused a sudden and unexpected increase in the number of hospital admissions and deaths worldwide. The impact of social distancing on blood stocks was significant. Data on the use of blood products by patients with COVID‐19 are scarce.Material and methodsA retrospective observational study was conducted by analysing the medical records of 3014 hospitalized COVID‐19 patients in 16 Brazilian hospitals. Individual data related to clinical, laboratory and transfusion characteristics and outcomes of these patients were collected. Patients characteristics association with mortality and transfusion need were tested independently by logistic regression models.ResultsPatients mean age was 57·6 years. In 2298 (76·2%) patients, there was an underlying clinical comorbidity. A total of 1657 (55%) patients required admission to intensive care unit (ICU), and 943 (31%) patients required ventilatory support and orotracheal intubation (OTI). There was a total of 471 (15·6%) deaths among all patients. 325 patients (10·7%) required blood transfusion; 3187 blood products were transfused: 1364 red blood cells in 303 patients, 1092 platelet units in 78 patients, 303 fresh frozen plasma in 49 patients and 423 cryoprecipitates in 21 patients. The mortality among patients who received transfusion was substantially higher than that among the total study population.ConclusionNeed for transfusion was low in COVID‐19 patients, but significantly higher in patients admitted to ICU and in those who needed OTI. Knowledge of the transfusion profile of these patients allows better strategies for maintaining the blood stocks of hospitals during the pandemic.

COVID-19: Perturbation dynamics resulting chaos to stable with seasonality transmission.

The outbreak of coronavirus is spreading at an unprecedented rate to the human populations and taking several thousands of life all over the globe. In this paper, an extension of the well-known susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) family of compartmental model has been introduced with seasonality transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The stability analysis of the coronavirus depends on changing of its basic reproductive ratio. The progress rate of the virus in critical infected cases and the recovery rate have major roles to control this epidemic. Selecting the appropriate critical parameter from the Turing domain, the stability properties of existing patterns is obtained. The outcomes of theoretical studies, which are illustrated via Hopf bifurcation and Turing instabilities, yield the result of numerical simulations around the critical parameter to forecast on controlling this fatal disease. Globally existing solutions of the model has been studied by introducing Tikhonov regularization. The impact of social distancing, lockdown of the country, self-isolation, home quarantine and the wariness of global public health system have significant influence on the parameters of the model system that can alter the effect of recovery rates, mortality rates and active contaminated cases with the progression of time in the real world.

COVID-19 Pandemic Social Distancing General Practices

Introduction: COVID 19 is the first pandemic events that happen in Oman which requires all residents and nationals to practice quarantine and social distancing, there could be certain issues related to culture values and community that affect the practice of these measures. Therefore, this study is going to explore the public knowledge, practices and believes about the quarantine and social distancing in pandemic event. We hypothesized that there are certain values that affect the practice of social distancing during the COVID 19 pandemic.Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted the population of Oman (including citizens and residents) and was carried out during COVID-19 pandemic from 11th August 2020 to 7th September 2020. All those who were able to read and write were included in the study. Survey included close and open-ended questions. In the first section of the questionnaire, participants were asked to specify demographical details including age, marital status, living with high-risk groups, health status, job status and income in order to correlate the practice of social distancing along with the demographical data. The second section of the questionnaire included details regarding the knowledge, believe and the impact of social distancing, and readiness to change social life and comply with the social distancing.Results: 943 respondents, majority of them reported that they are ready /ready to a great extent to practice social distancing (61.9%) compared to 34.9% reported that they are not sure/ready to some extent and only 3.2% were not ready at all to practice social distancing. Financial factors, religious and culture norms had the strongest negative impact. While level of responsibility, governmental legislations, and fear of getting or transmitting the infection had the strongest positive impact to practice social distancing among all the respondents. Male reported more financial and religious negative impact with p-value 0.002 and 0.001, respectively. And female reported more positive impact of family and friends support and legislation with p-value 0.046 and 0.008, respectively.Conclusions: This cross-sectional study conducted in the middle of COVID-19 era highlighted the readiness of population to practice the social distancing, their knowledge of social distancing, and the impact of social distancing on different life factors. Religious practices mainly negatively affected the male gender. Culture and norms derive the human behavior within communities and may affect the safety measures during outbreak or pandemic. Hence, even with availability of vaccination, campaigns on public health should be the national practice to continue emphasizing compassionate attitudes towards social distancing.Funding: None to declareDeclaration of Interests: None to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from scientific research committee at Royal Hospital, MOH, with approval number SRC#65/2020 prior start of the study.

Effect of Social Distancing on Coronavirus Disease 2019 Spread Controlling: A Mathematical Modeling

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19), the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, has posed an unprecedented public health threat to China and many other countries in the world at present, with a significant effect on health and public health systems, individual lives and national and world economic. COVID-19 has been declared by the WHO as a pandemic. The structures of public contact significantly determine spread of this infection and, in the absence of vaccines, the control of these structures through extensive social distancing measures have appeared to be the most effective means of mitigation. In this paper, to examine the impact of social distancing in COVID 19 distribution, we propose mathematical model using direct correlation between social exposure and reproduction number. We show that the calculation of social distance is an efficient way of monitoring the spread of COVID-19 in the absence of vaccines. In India, we have also calculated that the basic reproduction number is 2.5.

Assessing the Impact of Social Distance on Skin Condition during COVID-19 Pandemic Based on an Online Survey

Abstract - After the declaration of the pandemic in March 2020, Governments around the world made social distancing a mandatory rule to practice to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection (covid-19). This action has impacted our lives in several ways, it can be stated that it might also have an impact on skin conditions or lead to skin conditions. The purpose of this survey was to assess if individuals practicing social distancing have experienced any dermatological changes. An online survey consisting of 16 questions was conducted to find out if the prolonged practice of social distancing has led to any skin conditions. 39.7 %( n=93) of individuals who took the survey stated that they have observed changes in their skin, hair, and nails, they stated that these skin changes were observed post-pandemic (p=0.00037). 33.8% (n=79) of participants stated that they are experiencing hair loss and 4.7% (n=11) of individuals noted to have observed vertical lines in their nails. Along with several factors like changes in the skincare routine, diet changes, mood changes, wearing masks, and excessive sanitization, the practice of social distancing has shown to impact changes in dermatological conditions in the pandemic. These conditions can be prevented with the right precautionary measures and can be treated under the care of a dermatologist while still practicing social distancing.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Indian states during lockdown: incorporating heterogeneity and non-pharmaceutical interventions

Early exponential growth of any influenza pandemic is a result of heterogeneous population, where susceptible with high human contact may have spread the disease. The cases of ten worst infected states in India due to SARS-CoV-2 as of 9 June 2020 are modelled to find the number of super-spreaders. We propose the use of model considering heterogeneous population and non-pharmaceutical measures during lockdown considerations from 25 March 2020 to 31 May 2020 for the state-specific transmission dynamics. A fixed sample of population element is measured before the COVID-19 outbreak. The impact of social distancing and personal hygiene through the empirical research is observed. We incorporated the behaviour change in the models. Our results indicate that the vulnerability is high in Bihar, while the conditions in Delhi, UP and West Bengal may deteriorate in the near future. We highlight that policy of testing, social distancing and personal hygiene should be continued.

The management of COVID-19 epidemic: estimate of the actual infected population, impact of social distancing and directions for an efficient testing strategy. The case of Italy

The management of COVID-19 epidemic: estimate of the actual infected population, impact of social distancing and directions for an efficient testing strategy. The case of Italy