Public health
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On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic. The first cases in Italy were reported on January 30, 2020, and the outbreak quickly escalated. On March 19, 2020, deaths in Italy surpassed those in China. The Italian government implemented progressively restrictive measures leading to a nationwide lockdown on March 8, 2020. This study aimed to assess the impact of mitigation measures implemented in Italy on the spread of COVID-19. ⋯ This study suggests the measures were effective in flattening the epidemic curve and bought valuable time, allowing for the number of IC beds to be nearly doubled before the national health system reached maximum capacity.
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The goal of the present work is to investigate trends among US counties and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) growth rates in relation to the existence of shelter-in-place (SIP) orders in that county. ⋯ SIP orders were found to be effective at reducing the growth rate of COVID-19 cases in the US. Counties with a large population or a high population density were found to benefit the most from a SIP order.