Assessing the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on alcohol consumption in Melbourne, Australia using high-resolution wastewater sampling.

ABSTRACT: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on alcohol consumption in Australia remains unclear. High-resolution daily samples from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) which served one of the largest cities in Australia, Melbourne, were analysed for temporal trends in alcohol consumption under extended periods of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. Melbourne experienced two major lockdowns in 2020, which divided the year of 2020 into five periods (pre-lockdown, first lockdown, between lockdown, second lockdown and post second-lockdown). In this study, daily sampling identified shifts in alcohol consumption during different periods of restrictions. Alcohol consumption in the first lockdown period, when bars closed and social and sports events ceased, was lower than pre-lockdown

SUBMITTER: Chen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10264323 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature