Delaying the COVID-19 epidemic in Australia: evaluating the effectiveness of international travel bans.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Following the outbreak of novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the disease named COVID-19, in Wuhan, China in late 2019, countries have implemented different interventions such as travel bans to slow the spread of this novel virus. This brief report evaluates the effect of travel bans imposed to prevent COVID-19 importation in the Australian context.

Methods

We developed a stochastic meta-population model to capture the global dynamics and spread of COVID-19. By adjusting our model to capture the travel bans imposed globally and in Australia, the predicted COVID-19 cases imported to Australia were evaluated in comparison to observed imported cases.

Results

Our modelling results closely aligned with observed cases in Austral

SUBMITTER: Adekunle A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7405030 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature