Increase In COVID-19 Cases Research Articles

Correlation of public mobility and Covid-19 incidence in Indonesia during six phases of restriction policy implementation

Public mobility is considered one of the factors thought to impact the transmission of SARS-CoV2. The Indonesian government has imposed six mobility restriction policies since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to cope this situation, however there has been no comprehensive evaluation of this program. This study aimed to examine the correlation between mobility and the incidence of COVID-19 during the implementation of this policy in Indonesia. Secondary data on public mobility, acquired through the Google Community Mobility Reports, and data on COVID-19 new cases, recorded on the COVID Task Force website, were utilized from 2 March 2020 to 20 July 2021.The analysis in this study was carried out using the Pearson correlation test with an alternative Spearman correlation test. The result reported a positive correlation between COVID-19 cases and mobility in certain places, such as in Grocery Store and Transit Station (r = 0.75; p-value <0.001; r = 0.62 p-value <0.001) while there was negative correlation in residential area (r= - 0.276 p-value < 0.001). Public mobility is found to be correlated with an increase in COVID-19 cases during the six phases of restriction policy implementation. In conclusion, regulating public mobility is important to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Analisis Karakteristik dan Tingkat Hambatan Samping Ruas Jalan D.I. Panjaitan Kota Kendari

Progress inland transportation has not escaped the emergence of new problems from environmental aspects, accidents, and congestion. Traffic congestion occurs due to the imbalance between the growth of vehicles with improved infrastructure, rapid urbanization, low of discipline of road users, and side friction. Land use, type of road, and size of the city result in the characteristics and level of side friction. From these things, research on the analysis of characteristics and level of side friction on the D.I. Panjaitan Road section of Kendari City became interesting. The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of side friction and determine the level of side friction. From research and analysis, it was found that side friction that occurs at three observation points is generally caused by the type of activity of stopped vehicles, parking on street, and vehicles come into and exit from the parking area and coming into or leaving the neighborhood. Based on side friction frequency data at three observation points showed the lowest Side Friction Frequency (SFF) of 33.5 and 39.4 events at point T3, then 67.6 and 64.4 at point T2, and the highest at point T3 70.5 and 59.9 events. The data shows that the side friction class on the road is categorized is very low. The low side friction at the observation location is caused by the observation time carried out during the decline in community activities due to the implementation of health protocols due to the increase in Covid-19 cases

The effect of wind speed in increasing COVID-19 cases in Jakarta: a spatial-temporal analysis from March to September 2020

Background The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is described as a highly contagious virus, and wind speed is suspected to be one of the climate elements that play a role in its spread, among others. This study aims to determine the relationship between wind speed and the increase in COVID-19 cases, as well as its potential spread, based on regional characteristics. Methods The design of this study was an ecological study based on time and place to integrate geographic information systems and tested using statistical techniques. The data used were wind speed and weekly COVID-19 cases from March to September 2020. These records were obtained from the special coronavirus website of Jakarta Provincial Health Office and the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. The data were analyzed by correlation, graphic/time trend, and spatial analysis. Results The wind speed (maximum and mean) from March to September 2020 tended to fluctuate between 1.43 and 6.07 m/s. The correlation test results between the average wind speed and COVID-19 cases in Jakarta showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.542; p value = 0.002). Conclusions Areas with high wind speeds tended to show an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, especially in the coastal areas of Jakarta. Wind speed plays a role in increasing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, in people who did not implement health protocols properly. This mechanism can be worsened with support of environmental factors such as air pollution.

ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF APPLICATIONS BY AIRLINES TO PROTECT CONSUMERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC PERIOD

Airline companies have developed specific measures and practices to maintain their commercial activities and protect consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, while some airlines take hygiene measures such as disinfection of airplanes and luggage, others have introduced certain time flexibility on their tickets so that passengers do not lose their flight rights. On the other hand, they informed the passengers through their web pages and had some practices to maintain social distancing and reduce the crowd. In this study, the official websites of the member airlines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) were examined, the practices carried out by the companies to protect consumers from disease and to minimize or compensate for their loss of rights were determined, and these practices were systematically grouped based on the similarities in their purposes. Also, regional differences between airlines’ practices were examined based on the regional classification of IATA. Although the studies in the literature deal with these practices one by one, this study brought them together and classified them systematically for the first time. Thus, in the event of a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases or another similar pandemic, it has become possible to find applications that can be made in the airline passenger transportation sector in a single study to reduce transmission, protect consumers, and compensate for the loss of rights. Continuing flexible ticketing and self-service technology applications during the pandemic will also benefit consumers after the pandemic, and airline companies that continue these applications will make a difference between them and their competitors. Hygiene measures and practices taken during the pandemic are also necessary. While preventing the spread of infectious diseases such as colds provides confidence to its passengers.

INTEGRATED OF WEB APPLICATION RSHINY FOR MARKOV CHAIN AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE DAILY CASES OF COVID-19 IN WEST SUMATERA

Discrete-time of Markov chains, starting now referred to as Markov chains, have been widely used by previous researchers in predicting the phenomenon. The predictions were made by manual calculations and using separate software, including Maple, Matlab, and Microsoft Excel. The analysis takes a relatively long time, especially in calculating the number of transitions from each state. This research built an integrated R script for the Markov chain based on the web application RShiny to quickly, easily, and accurately predict a phenomenon. The Markov chain integrated R script is built via command-command to predict the day-n distribution with the n-step distribution and long-term probability using a stationary distribution. The RShiny web application built is limited to state two and three. The integrated web application RShiny for the Markov chain is used to predict the daily cases of COVID-19 in West Sumatra. Based on the analysis carried out in predicting the daily cases of COVID-19 in West Sumatra from March 26, 2020, to October 20, 2020, for the next three days and in the long term, the results show that there is a 51.2% probability of an increase in COVID-19 cases, a 43% probability that cases will decrease, and 5.8% chance of stagnant cases

Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the actions of the dengue control program in a metropolitan area in the southeast region of Brazil

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a challenge for health systems, straining available material and personal resources, interfering with other surveillance and control programs. Dengue is epidemiologically the most relevant urban arbovirus of Latin America, being endemic in the metropolitan municipality of Contagem in Minas Gerais State, southeast region of Brazil. This is an ecological study that aimed to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on dengue control and surveillance in Contagem in the year of 2020. In 2020, the municipality presented more dengue cases than expected for non-epidemic years, with a sharp decline from epidemiological week 11 onwards, coinciding with the increase in COVID-19 cases. There was also a reduction in vector control, with the national suspension of the second Survey of Rapid Infestation Index of Aedes aegypti and a significant decrease in the installation of oviposition traps, properties visited for monitoring and that received focal treatment. Our results and the difficulties observed in different instances of dengue control corroborate the hypothesis of weakening of the surveillance program and possible underreporting of dengue cases as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. KEY WORDS: COVID-19; dengue; epidemiology; syndemic; public health surveillance.

Could the compound effects of drought and fire have caused an increase of COVID-19 cases in the Pantanal wetland?

Could the compound effects of drought and fire have caused an increase of COVID-19 cases in the Pantanal wetland?

Did COVID-19 challenge the volatility of the sustainable stock market? An examination of Asian market

The coronavirus outbreak at the end of 2019 hit many aspects of the financial sector, especially the stock market. This research examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, exchange rates, gold price, and the Brent oil price on the volatility of the Sustainable Stock Market in Asia. A quantitative research method is applied using average monthly panel data from March 2020 to April 2022, covering the COVID-19 pandemic period. We employed panel regressions and applied Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS) in the analysis, which also serves as a robustness check. This study contributes to the literature by examining the variables significantly impacting sustainable investing, particularly in the sustainable stock market. Empirical results find that COVID-19, gold price and the exchange rate have negatively affected sustainable stock market volatility, while the Brent oil price has a positive impact on the volatility of the sustainable stock market. This study's recommendations infer that both investors and managers should consider the increase of COVID-19 cases and frequency-varying exchange rates to the USD on the Asian sustainable stock market volatility.

Influences of vaccination and public health strategies on COVID-19 dynamics in the United States: Evaluating policy impacts, behavioral responses, and variant proliferation

Background and Aim: The United States (US) government implemented interventions against COVID-19, but their effects on variant-related risks remain inconclusive. We aimed to assess the causal effects of vaccination rates, booster uptakes, face mask mandates, and public area mobility (societal behavioral factor) on early-stage COVID-19 case and death growth rates and identify the most effective public health response for controlling COVID-19 in the US. Materials and Methods: We performed retrospective analyses using four standard correlated random effects models, analyzing a robust panel dataset that encompasses 16,700 records across all fifty US states. Models 1 and 3 analyzed COVID-19 case rates and death growth rates, respectively, from January 2021 to November 2021. In contrast, using the data from August 2021 to November 2021, Models 2 and 4 assessed the effect of Delta variants and booster shots on COVID-19 case and death growth rates, respectively. Results: We found that face mask mandate (p < 0.01) and workplace mobility (p < 0.05) led to lower COVID-19 case growth rates. COVID-19 vaccination uptake rate reduced COVID-19 death growth rates (p < 0.01). Furthermore, contrary to Epsilon variant (p < 0.01), which contributed to reduced COVID-19 case growth rates, Delta variant led to significant increases in COVID-19 cases (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests that immediate public health interventions, like mask mandates, are crucial for crisis mitigation, while long-term solutions like vaccination effectively address pandemics. The findings of this study not only sheds light on the recent pandemic but also equips policy-makers and health professionals with tools and knowledge to tackle future public health emergencies more effectively. Keywords: COVID-19, face mask mandate, public mobility, vaccination, variants.

Revealing associations between spatial time series trends of COVID-19 incidence and human mobility: an analysis of bidirectionality and spatiotemporal heterogeneity

BackgroundUsing human mobility as a proxy for social interaction, previous studies revealed bidirectional associations between COVID-19 incidence and human mobility. For example, while an increase in COVID-19 cases may affect mobility to decrease due to lockdowns or fear, conversely, an increase in mobility can potentially amplify social interactions, thereby contributing to an upsurge in COVID-19 cases. Nevertheless, these bidirectional relationships exhibit variations in their nature, evolve over time, and lack generalizability across different geographical contexts. Consequently, a systematic approach is required to detect functional, spatial, and temporal variations within the intricate relationship between disease incidence and mobility.MethodsWe introduce a spatial time series workflow to investigate the bidirectional associations between human mobility and disease incidence, examining how these associations differ across geographic space and throughout different waves of a pandemic. By utilizing daily COVID-19 cases and mobility flows at the county level during three pandemic waves in the US, we conduct bidirectional Granger causality tests for each county and wave. Furthermore, we employ dynamic time warping to quantify the similarity between the trends of disease incidence and mobility, enabling us to map the spatial distribution of trends that are either similar or dissimilar.ResultsOur analysis reveals significant bidirectional associations between COVID-19 incidence and mobility, and we develop a typology to explain the variations in these associations across waves and counties. Overall, COVID-19 incidence exerts a greater influence on mobility than vice versa, but the correlation between the two variables exhibits a stronger connection during the initial wave and weakens over time. Additionally, the relationship between COVID-19 incidence and mobility undergoes changes in direction and significance for certain counties across different waves. These shifts can be attributed to alterations in disease control measures and the presence of evolving confounding factors that differ both spatially and temporally.ConclusionsThis study provides insights into the spatial and temporal dynamics of the relationship between COVID-19 incidence and human mobility across different waves. Understanding these variations is crucial for informing the development of more targeted and effective healthcare policies and interventions, particularly at the city or county level where such policies must be implemented. Although we study the association between mobility and COVID-19 incidence, our workflow can be applied to investigate the associations between the time series trends of various infectious diseases and relevant contributing factors, which play a role in disease transmission.

Income inequality and its association with COVID-19 cases and deaths: a cross-country analysis in the Eastern Mediterranean region

IntroductionThere is limited evidence on the associations between economic and social disparities in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) with COVID-19 infections and deaths. This study aims to investigate the relationship...

Using a time-varying LCAR-based strategy to investigate the spatiotemporal pattern of association between short-term exposure to particulate matter and COVID-19 incidence: a case study in the continental USA.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that short-term exposure to particulate matter less than 10 μm (PM10) is positively associated with the COVID-19 incidence. However, no study has investigated the spatiotemporal pattern in this association, which plays important roles in identifying high-susceptibility regions and stages of epidemic. In this work, taking the 49 native states in America as an example, we used an advanced strategy to investigate this issue. First, time-series generalized additive model (GAM) were independently constructed to obtain the state-specific associations between short-term exposure to PM10 and the daily COVID-19 cases from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2021. Then, a Leroux-prior-based conditional autoregression (LCAR) was used to spatially smoothen the associations. Third, the temporal variation of association and the reasons underlying the spatiotemporal heterogeneity were investigated by incorporating the time-varying GAM into LCAR. Results showed that PM10 was adversely associated with COVID-19 incidence in all the states. On average, a 10 μg/m3 increase of PM10 was associated with a 7.38% (95% CI 5.20-9.64%) increase in COVID-19 cases. A substantial spatial heterogeneity was observed, with strong associations in the middle and northeastern regions and weak associations in the western regions. The temporal trend of association presented a U shape, with the strongest association in the end of 2021. The vaccination rate was examined as a significant effect modifier. Our study provided the first evidence about the spatiotemporal pattern in PM10-COVID-19 associations and suggested that air pollution deserves more attention in the post-pandemic era and in the middle and northeastern regions in America for COVID-19 control and prevention.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Use of the Menor Preço Brasil Application

The Menor Preço Brasil application, based on a version developed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, was launched in 2019 with the aim of expanding digital services to citizens. This application provides information on the nearest establishments and their product prices based on issued invoices. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, this application adapted its service to facilitate access to prevention products. We are not aware of any other similar government application that uses individual invoice data to support citizens in finding products closer to them at better prices. This study aims to verify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of the Menor Preço Brasil app service. To this end, it investigates both the correlation between confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Brazil and the changes in the application’s functionalities with the variation in citizens’ queries to the application. It is a quantitative approach. For this purpose, Bai and Perron’s method of identifying multiple structural breaks and regression models are employed. The results indicate five structural breaks in the number of queries to the application, and that a 1% increase in COVID-19 cases led to a 0.2% increase in queries. These results confirm that user behavior related to the Menor Preço Brasil application was influenced not only by changes in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases but also by those in the app’s features and inflation rates. The literature also tends to consider the relevance of the relative effects of risk aversion on behavior, especially in the relationship with the tax authorities. This study reinforces the position of the initial relevance of risk aversion and when trust gradually strengthening the aversion to losses diminishes. The public sector has progressively increased the availability of digital services over time, and the results of this study underscore their significance in coping with extreme situations, such as pandemics, natural disasters, and other challenges to accessing goods and services.

Clinical characteristics and factors associated with severe COVID-19 in hospitalized children during the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron pandemic in Taiwan.

Since April 2022, a notable increase in COVID-19 cases with the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has been reported in Taiwan. In the epidemic, children were one of the most vulnerable groups, so we analyzed their clinical presentations and factors associated with severe complications of COVID-19 in children. We included hospitalized patients under 18 years old with lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from March 1, 2022, to July 31, 2022. We collected the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. Patients requiring intensive care were defined as severe cases. Among the 339 enrolled patients, the median age was 31 months (interquartile range (IQR), 8-79.0 months); and 96 patients (28.3%) had underlying diseases. Fever was noted in 319 patients (94.1%) with a median duration of two days (IQR 2-3 days). Twenty-two patients (6.5%) were severe cases, including 10 patients (2.9%) with encephalopathy with abnormal neuroimaging and ten patients (2.9%) with shock. Two patients (0.6%) died. Patients with congenital cardiovascular disease (aOR: 21.689), duration of fever up to four days or more (aOR: 6.466), desaturation (aOR: 16.081), seizure (aOR: 20.92), and procalcitonin >0.5ng/mL (aOR: 7.886) had a higher risk of severe COVID-19. Vital signs need close monitoring, early management and/or intensive care may be applied in COVID-19 patients with congenital cardiovascular diseases, fever lasting ≥4 days, seizures, desaturation and/or elevated procalcition since they are at higher risks of severe diseases.

From Outbreak to Vaccination: An Analysis of the Commercial Property Market Reaction to COVID-19 in Malaysia

This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of the commercial property market in Malaysia. Differing from previous studies that focus on the first wave of COVID-19 that erupted in March 2020, we examine how the commercial property market reacted to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and the subsequent response (lockdowns, fiscal support, and vaccination program) of the government in dealing with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that abnormal returns of listed property companies, REITs, and hotel operators decrease following the implementation of the first nationwide lockdown. Subsequent nationwide lockdowns, however, do not exert a significant impact on abnormal returns. Moreover, we find that 1-day window abnormal returns during the first and third nationwide lockdowns increase with increases in COVID-19 cases. This suggests that investors believe in the ability of these nationwide lockdowns to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In addition, we document a positive impact of blanket loan moratorium announcements and change in vaccination rate on abnormal returns. The economic magnitude of the stock price changes in response to these announcements could be used as a reference point by policymakers and investors when faced with future pandemics of a similar scale.

Efektivitas Kompres Hangat Dan Terapi Musik Terhadap Tingkat Nyeri Dismenore Remaja Di Masa Pandemi Covid-19

Dysmenorrhea is a medical condition that occurs during menstruation or menstruation, which can interfere with activities and requires treatment. Characterized by pain or tenderness in the abdomen or pelvis. The impact of dysmenorrhea is reduced concentration when studying, hampered sports activities and reduced time for social activities. With the increase in Covid-19 cases, people are becoming anxious if they have to come to health services for fear of contracting Covid-19. One action to reduce dysmenorrhea pain is using a warm compress combined with music therapy. This research is quantitative research using quasi-experimental research using a one-group pre-test-post-test design method and purposive sampling techniques. The location where the research will be conducted is STIKES Kesdam IV/Diponegoro with 30 respondents. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) is a tool used to evaluate dysmenorrhea pain. The Wilcoxon test was used to analyze research data. The results of this study show that giving a warm compress has an effect. with a combination of music therapy on the level of dysmenorrhea pain with a p value of 0.00 (<0.05).

Wearable Wireless Sensor Network for Mitigating COVID-19 Transmission Through Physical Distancing

The global community is currently facing a critical situation with the widespread transmission of the Covid-19 virus. The rapid increase in Covid-19 cases has necessitated immediate action and treatment. As the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended, maintaining a minimum distance of one meter between individuals is an effective preventive measure to avoid transmission through respiratory droplets. To address this issue, this paper introduces a cost-effective design and implementation of a wearable wireless sensor network using the ESP32 microcontroller and Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) technology that promotes physical distancing and contact tracing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In this research, we have determined that the safe distance between individuals is 1.5 meters. Proximity testing has indicated that an RSSI value of -62 dBm corresponds to a distance below 1.5 meters. Hence, we set -62 dBm as the distance threshold between wearable devices to ensure safe physical distancing. These wearable wireless sensor network devices are intended to assist individuals in maintaining a safe distance from others, thereby reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic large-scale social restriction to low back pain epidemiology, a single center study in Jakarta, Indonesia

Link of Video Abstract: https://youtu.be/oyaEnUqaE9k Background: With the increase in COVID-19 cases, Indonesia’s government enforced the Large-Scale Social Restriction (LSSR) that started on April 1st, 2020. Despite LSSR’s ability to decrease COVID-19 transmissions, LSSR also leads to an increase in depression disorder, change in dietary habits and lower physical activity, which are factors that affect low back pain (LBP) incidence. The objective of this study is to evaluate the incidence of LBP during LSSR in the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Atma Jaya Hospital, Jakarta. Methods: This study is a descriptive-analytic research. The data was taken from the medical records of patients whose ages are>18 years old and who complained of LBP symptoms. We divide our data into Pre- (July–December 2019) and during LSSR (July–December 2020). Statistical analysis is significant if α<0.05. Missing data will be excluded. Results: Total orthopedics patients in Atma Jaya Hospital, Jakarta, in pre-and during LSSR were 1405 and 837, respectively. Only around 269 and 178 patients, respectively, had LBP complaints. There is a decrease of 5.2% in traumatic LBP complaints during LSSR compared with pre-LSSR (p=0.13). We found significant differences in number of subjects with HNP (20.1% vs 12.4%, p=0.034) and scoliosis (2.6% vs 8.4%, p=0.005). Pharmacological and physiotherapy were the mainstays of treatment for LBP complaints, with no significant difference in the number of patients who received them. Conclusion: The LSSR does not significantly affect the number of LBP patients in an orthopedic clinic at Atma Jaya Hospital. LSSR might lower the prevalence of HNP with LBP and might increase the prevalence of scoliosis with LBP.

Impact of Hurricane Ida on Covid-19 surge and its relationship with vaccination status in the United States

COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world since December 2019. Preventive measures such as social distancing and masking have been implemented to contain the virus transmission and associated morbidity and mortality. The development of highly effective vaccines has further aided in mitigating viral spread. In the event of natural disasters recommended preventative measure can be compromised and accelerate the virus spread; however, the impact of natural disasters during COVID-19 remains poorly examined. Hurricane Ida struck the coastal regions of United States during August 29 to September 04, 2021 and forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands in temporary shelters, a favorable scenario for the predominant, highly transmissible delta strain of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we performed a short-term analysis of daily and weekly COVID-19 cases and deaths before Ida (August 22–28, 2021), during Ida (August 29 to September 4, 2021) and three-week post-Ida (August 05 to September 25, 2021) in 12 states. Post-Ida, the daily cases and deaths (per 100,000 people) showed a clear spike and weekly analysis showed ∼20% increase in some states during the first week of post-Ida. Interestingly, correlation analysis reveals that states with low vaccination rates exhibit remarkable increase in COVID-19 cases (r = −0.92, p < 0.05) and deaths (r = −0.94, p < 0.05). In most states, there was evident surge in cases and deaths, although it was largely due to devastating flooding of hurricane Ida's remnants forcing mass evacuations for longer duration. These results indicate that natural disasters can compound pandemic preparedness efforts, exacerbate the risk of virus.

Operator Performance Analysis Using Overall Labor Effectiveness Method with Root Cause Analysis Approach

The growth of the manufacturing sector in Indonesia has slowed down due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, which has led to a decrease in the production volume of companies. This impact needs to be reassessed by each company, and one way to address it is by continuously improving company productivity. PT X is one of the companies in the manufacturing sector that has a program to continuously enhance its productivity, with its production result being pianos. This study focuses on the performance of operators in a specific production area that has consistently not met the company's productivity target over a period. The objective is to determine the effectiveness of the operators in that area using the Overall Labor Effectiveness (OLE) method. Subsequently, the obtained OLE results will be analyzed using the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) method, and improvement proposals will be provided, supported by the House of Quality (HOQ) method and previous literature. The research results indicate issues in one of the OLE variables, namely the performance ratio. Root cause analysis was conducted to identify the underlying issues, assisted by brainstorming tools, the 5-why method, and a fishbone diagram. This analysis revealed three main problems. Furthermore, two design proposals were formulated using the HOQ framework, and an additional proposal was based on previous research findings.