Evaluations of COVID-19 control strategies indicate that international travel restrictions have little to no effect on the progression of local COVID-19 epidemics.

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Research on the effectiveness of COVID-19 control strategies has yielded varying results across different contexts and populations. The implementation of control strategies successfully decreased the reproduction number ($$R_t$$) in China, and stay-at-home orders were associated with decreased hospitalizations across four states in the U.S. Conversely, shelter-in-place and prevention efforts have been less effective in African American and Latino populations, and international travel restrictions demonstrated little to no effect on local epidemics. Furthermore, national surveys highlight that understanding behavioral changes and public adherence is critical to the overall success of these preventative policies.

Effectiveness of Control Strategies for COVID-19

Shelter-in-place prevention efforts are less effective in preventing/controlling COVID-19 transmission in African American/black and Latino populations, possibly because these populations are more likely to 1) experience homelessness or to reside in areas of substandard air quality 2) be employed in service/ transportation positions 3) live in crowded urban areas and 4) have high rates of underlying conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, HIV, morbid obesity, liver disease, and kidney disease.

Decreased Effectiveness of COVID-19 Prevention Efforts in African American/Black and Latino Populations

The authors argue that unlike case count (which is a conservative estimate) and death count (which is a delayed and insufficient estimate), hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are a stronger metric for evaluating the effectiveness of stay-at-home measures. The study consisted of four states (Colorado, Minnesota, Ohio, and Virginia) that fit the inclusion criteria of having at least 7 consecutive days of cumulative hospitalization before and 17 days following the stay-at-home date.

Association between decreased hospitalizations and stay-at-home orders in four states in U.S.

Several studies found that R$_t$ decreased when control strategies were implemented.

Implementation of control strategies decreased R$_t$ in  China

- Types of health-protective measures: key definitions
- Survey Participant Demographics
- Predictor and Outcome Variables used in Study
- Results: Summary of Behavioral Changes

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