Early mandated social distancing is a strong predictor of reduction in peak daily new COVID-19 cases.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Mandated social distancing has been applied globally to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the beneficial effects of this community-based intervention have not been proven or quantified for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study design

This is a regional population-level observational study.

Methods

Using publicly available data, we examined the effect of timing of mandated social distancing on the rate of COVID-19 cases in 119 geographic regions, derived from 41 states within the United States and 78 other countries. The highest number of new COVID-19 cases per day recorded within a geographic unit was the primary outcome. The total number of COVID-19 cases in regions where case numbers had reached the tail end of the outbreak was an

SUBMITTER: Qureshi AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7577666 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature