An investigation of several Spanish centers, led by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), provides new data confirming that the increase in the restrictions imposed to control the pandemic was associated with a significant reduction in the transmission of covid-19. 19 in Spain. The results are published in Frontiers in Public Health.
The authors, led by the researcher from the National Epidemiology Center of the ISCIII Susan Mongehave confirmed that the use of preventive measures and restrictions made it possible to reduce the transmission of the virus and the incidence of the disease, and have estimated to what extent the intensity of these measures defines how much transmission was reduced: statistical calculations indicate that increasing by 34 % the intensity of the measures managed to reduce transmission by 22% weekly.
These percentages have been estimated thanks to the application of an index that measures the intensity of the restrictive measures used in combination, which represents the intensity in a gradation of 0 and 1, analyzing different variables: the application of the measures on a day-to-day basis , the different areas of use and their use by provinces.
Information on all restriction measures
The work collects information on all the restriction measures imposed in Spain from the beginning of the second wave in September of 2020, until the end of second state of alarm in May 2021, at the provincial level and also including measures on municipalities.
The results indicate that the measures taken in social distance and occupation of restaurant areas, especially indoors, are especially effective.
The results indicate as especially effective the measures taken in social distance and occupation of restaurant areas, especially indoors, while the effect is less clear for other restrictive measures, such as those applied in places of leisure, culture and worship, religious celebrations or indoor sports practice areas.
The authors emphasize that the effect obtained with the measures applied in some areas compared to others must be interpreted with caution, since these measures were applied in different areas simultaneouslygenerally, which makes their joint analysis more complex.
Open data for future research
In addition to analyzing the relationship between the intensity of the measures and the incidence of covid-19, the project team has made all the information collected on the web available to the public “to stimulate and facilitate research on the effects of the measures of restriction and to be able to have greater knowledge about its impact, something fundamental to face possible similar situations in the future”, explain the authors.
The study has been carried out by a team from the ISCIII in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and the Universities of A Coruña, Cádiz and Complutense de Madrid. In addition, the research has been carried out in coordination with the Spanish Mathematics Committee (CEMat), under the initiative of the Mathematical Action against the Coronavirus.
Reference:
Monge S et al. “Effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions in nine fields of activity to decrease SARS-CoV-2 transmission”. Frontiers in Public Health (2023)
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