Environmental research
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Environmental research · Oct 2020
Social distancing at health care centers early in the pandemic helps to protect population from COVID-19.
The impact of COVID-19 outbreak has been unequal across Spanish regions. The epidemic wave has been smoother in the Region of Murcia (RM) (6 deaths/100,000 residents). Physical distance from health centers from day 0 is an additional social distancing measure that confers an advantageous starting position in the fight against COVID-19. Late healthcare distancing measures are not as powerful as the early ones.
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Environmental research · Oct 2020
Disparate on-site access to water, sanitation, and food storage heighten the risk of COVID-19 spread in Sub-Saharan Africa.
COVID-19 is an active pandemic that likely poses an existential threat to humanity. Frequent handwashing, social distancing, and partial or total lockdowns are among the suite of measures prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and being implemented across the world to contain the pandemic. However, existing inequalities in access to certain basic necessities of life (water, sanitation facility, and food storage) create layered vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and can render the preventive measures ineffective or simply counterproductive. ⋯ There is a social gradient in in-house access between the rich and the poor, urban and rural richest, male- and female-headed households, among others. We conclude that SSA governments would need to infuse innovative gender- and age-sensitive support services (such as water supply, portable sanitation) to augment the preventive measures prescribed by the WHO. Short-, medium- and long-term interventions within and across countries should necessarily address the upstream, midstream and downstream determinants of in-house access and the full spectrum of layers of inequalities including individual, interpersonal, institutional, and population levels.