Phylogeographic evaluation of the effectiveness of Canadian travel restrictions in reducing SARS-CoV-2 variant importations and burden.

ABSTRACT: Evaluating travel restriction effectiveness in mitigating infectious disease burden, exemplified by COVID-19, is critical for informing pandemic response policy, yet methodologies and results evaluating their effectiveness vary considerably. We hypothesized Canadian COVID-19 travel restrictions, including flight bans and enhanced screening, targeting focal source countries where SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron were first identified, were variably effective towards averting introductions and case burden. We conducted a retrospective observational study using all the publicly available SARS-CoV-2 sequences and COVID-19 diagnoses up to March 2022, after which polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and surveillance sequencing decreased. Average dai

SUBMITTER: McLaughlin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12526992 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature