The effect of early-stage public health policies in the transmission of Covid-19 for South American countries

Bibliographic Data

ID14966839
AuthorsBryan Valcarcel (0000-0003-3853-2603, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3853-2603, corresponding author), Jose L Avilez (0000-0002-9069-0468, University of Waterloo), J Smith Torres-Roman (Catholic University Los Angeles of Chimbote), J Smith Torres‐Roman (0000-0001-5310-6077, Catholic University Los Angeles of Chimbote), Julio A Poterico (0000-0001-7838-3505, Servicio de Genética, Instituto Nacional del Niño San Borja, Lima, Peru), Janina Bazalar-Palacios (0000-0001-8515-0742, Catholic University Los Angeles of Chimbote), Carlo La Vecchia (0000-0003-1441-897X, University of Milan)
Year2020
Volume44
Pages1
Publication date2020-11-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Panamericana de Salud Pública (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1020-4989 • E-ISSN: 1680-5348
PublisherPan American Health Organization (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.26633/rpsp.2020.148
PMID33245294
OpenAlexW3099538079
LanguageEN
References cited23

Objectives. The analysis of transmission dynamics is crucial to determine whether mitigation or suppression measures reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study sought to estimate the basic (R 0 ) and time-varying (R t ) reproduction number of COVID-19 and contrast the public health measures for ten South American countries. Methods. Data was obtained from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Country-specific R 0 values during the first two weeks of the outbreak and R t values after 90 days were estimated. Results. Countries used a combination of isolation, physical distancing, quarantine, and community-wide containment measures to staunch the spread of COVID-19 at different points in time. R0 ranged from 1.52 (95% confidence interval: 1.13-1.99) in Venezuela to 3.83 (3.04-4.75) in Chile, whereas Rt after 90 days ranged from 0.71 (95% credible interval: 0.39-1.05) in Uruguay to 1.20 (1.19-1.20) in Brazil. Different R 0 and R t values may be related to the testing capacity of each country. Conclusion. R 0 in the early phase of the outbreak varied across the South American countries. The public health measures adopted in the initial period of the pandemic appear to have reduced R t over time in each country, albeit to different levels

Confidence interval · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disease · Geography · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Outbreak · Pandemic · Public health · Quarantine · Sociology · Transmission (telecommunications · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Demography · Medicine · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research · Zoonotic diseases and public health · Internal Medicine · Virology

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