Emerging infectious diseases
-
Emerging Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Social Distancing Interventions to Delay or Flatten the Epidemic Curve of Coronavirus Disease.
By April 2, 2020, >1 million persons worldwide were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We used a mathematical model to investigate the effectiveness of social distancing interventions in a mid-sized city. Interventions reduced contacts of adults >60 years of age, adults 20-59 years of age, and children <19 years of age for 6 weeks. ⋯ We noted that, while social distancing interventions were in place, most new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths were averted, even with modest reductions in contact among adults. However, when interventions ended, the epidemic rebounded. Our models suggest that social distancing can provide crucial time to increase healthcare capacity but must occur in conjunction with testing and contact tracing of all suspected cases to mitigate virus transmission.
-
Emerging Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Observational StudyCharacteristics and Outcomes of Coronavirus Disease Patients under Nonsurge Conditions, Northern California, USA, March-April 2020.
Limited data are available on the clinical presentation and outcomes of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in the United States hospitalized under normal-caseload or nonsurge conditions. We retrospectively studied 72 consecutive adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2 hospitals in the San Francisco Bay area, California, USA, during March 13-April 11, 2020. ⋯ Of the 72 patients, 43 (59.7%) had underlying cardiovascular disease and 19 (26.4%) had underlying pulmonary disease. In this study, death rates were lower than those reported from regions of the United States experiencing a high volume of COVID-19 patients.
-
Emerging Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Decreased Influenza Incidence under COVID-19 Control Measures, Singapore.
We compared indicators of influenza activity in 2020 before and after public health measures were taken to reduce coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with the corresponding indicators from 3 preceding years. Influenza activity declined substantially, suggesting that the measures taken for COVID-19 were effective in reducing spread of other viral respiratory diseases.