Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on hospital admissions and mortality in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: interrupted time series analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To assess the effect of lockdown during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on daily all-cause admissions, and by age and diagnosis subgroups, and the odds of all-cause mortality in a hospital in rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Design

Observational cohort.

Setting

Referral hospital for 17 primary care clinics in uMkhanyakude District.

Participants

Data collected by the Africa Health Research Institute on all admissions from 1 January to 20 October: 5848 patients contributed to 6173 admissions.

Exposure

Five levels of national lockdown in South Africa from 27 March 2020, with restrictions decreasing from levels 5 to 1, respectively.

Outcome measures

Changes and trends in daily all-cause admissions and risk of in-hospital mortality before and at each st

SUBMITTER: McIntosh A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7977076 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature