From Social Distance to Physical Distance: A Challenge for Evaluating Public Health Interventions Against COVID-19

Hadi Pratomo

doi:10.21109/kesmas.v15i2.4010

From Social Distance to Physical Distance: A Challenge for Evaluating Public Health Interventions Against COVID-19

Hadi Pratomo

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected every country. Currently, no suitable vaccine or treatment has been identified; therefore, each country has attempted to issue appropriate policies, designed to reduce and prevent increases in the numbers of extreme cases. Transmission can be prevented by implementing social restrictions, also known as social distancing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued several methods for the prevention of transmission, including social distancing, washing hands with soap (or using hand sanitizer containing at least70% alcohol), and using masks. Over time, the term social distance has changed to physical distance. Evaluating the impacts of different types of non-pharmacological interventions has been challenging.

Keywords

COVID-19, physical distance, social distance

Full Text:

PDF

References

1. Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia No.06 Tahun 2018 Tentang Kekarantinaan. Available from: https://m.hukumonline.com/pusatdata/detail/lt5b83d8d899ab/

2. Northouse PG and Northouse LL. Health Communication: A Handbook for Health Professionals. USA: Prentice Hall; 1985.

3. Rios-Martinez J., Spalanzani A., and Laugier C.From Proxemics

Theory to Socially –Aware Navigation: A Survey. International Journal of Social Robotics. 2015 [cited 2020 May 14]. Available from: https://link.springer.com

4. The Canadian Agency for Public Health. Physical distancing: Actions for reducing the spread of Covid-19. 2020 April 15 [cited 2020 May 3]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/publichealth/service/publications/diseasesconditions/physical-distancing.html

5. John Hopkins University (JHU). What Is Social Distancing and How Can it Slow the Spread Of Covid-19. 2020 [cited 2020 May 3]. Available from: https://hub.jhu.edu/

6. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What is Social Distancing ?. 2020 [cited 2020 May 3]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html

7. World Health Organization (WHO). Physical Distancing. 2020 [cited 2020 May 3]. Available from: https://www.who.int

8. Ahmed F, Zviedrite N, and Uzicanin A. Effectiveness of Workplace Social Distancing Measures in Reducing Influenza Transmission: A Systematic Review. BMC Public Health. 2018 [cited 2020 May 3]. 18:518. Available from: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com

9. Fowler, James H. and Hill, Seth and Levin, Remy and Obradovich, Nicholas, The Effect of Stay-at-Home Orders on COVID-19 Infections in the United States (4/13/2020). Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3576826

10. Jarvis CI, Zandvoort KV, Gimma A, Prem K, CMMID Covid-19 working group, Klepac P, Rubin GJ, and Edmunds WJ. Quantifying the impact of physical distance measures on the transmission of Covid-19 in the UK. BMC Medicine. 2020. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-020-01597-8

11. Xiao J, Shiu EYC, Gao H, Wong JW, Fong MW, Ryu S, Cowling BJ. Nonpharmaceutical measures for pandemic influenza in nonhealthcare settings—personal protective and environmental measures. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 doi: 10.3201/eid2605.190994. published online Feb 6 [CrossRef] [Google Scholar].

12. Kar Keung Cheng, Tai Hing Lam, and Chi Chiu Leung.Wearing face masks in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic: altruism and solidarity. Lancet. 2020 April. Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30918-1 [Epub ahead of print]

13. Migliori GB, Nardell E, and Yedilbayev A. Reducing Tuberculosis Transmission: A Consensus Document from the World Health Organization Regional for Europe. European Respiratory Journal. 2019 [cited 2020 May 14]. Available from: https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/53/6 doi: 10.1183/13993003.00391-2019

14. Leung NHL, Chu DKW, Shiu EYC, Chan KH, McDevitt JJ, Hau BJP. Respiratory Virus Shedding in Exhaled Breath and Efficacy of Face Masks. Nature Medicine. 2020 [cited 2020 May 14]. Available from: https://www.nature.com doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0843-2

15. Esposito S., Principi N., Leung CC et al. Universal Use of Face Mask for Success Against COVID-19: Evidence and Implications for Prevention Policies. European Respiratory Journal. 2020. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01260-2020

16. Singh A, Chandra SK and Bajpai MK. Study of Non Pharmacological Interventions on COVID-19 Spread. 2020 [cited 2020 May 14]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.10.20096974

17. Cowling BJ, Ali ST, Ng TWY,Tsang TK, Li JCM, Fong MW, Liao Q, Kwan MYW, Lee SL, Chiu SS, Wu JT,Wu P, and Leung GM. Impact assessment of non-pharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza in Hong Kong: an observational study. Lancet Public Health. 2020. Available from: doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30090-6

18. Backer JA, Mollema L, Klinkenberg D, de Melker HE, Van der Klis FRM, Van den Hof S, Wallinga J. The impact of physical distancing measures against covid-19 transmission on contacts and mixing patterns in Netherlands: repeated cross-sectional surveys. 2020. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.18.20101501

19. Prem K, Liu Y, Russell TW, Kucharski AJ, Eggo RM, Davies N, Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Disease Covid-19 Working Group, JIt M, Klepac P. The effect of control strategies to reduce social mixing on outcomes of the Covid-19 epidemic in Wuhan, China: a modelling study. The Lancet. 2020. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30073-6

20. Kucharski AJ, Klepac P, Conlan AJK, Kissler SM, Tang ML, Fry H, Gog JR, Edmunds WJ, on behalf of the CMMID Covid-19 working group. Effectiveness of isolation, testing, contact tracing, and physical distancing on reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in different settings: a mathematical modelling study. The Lancet. 2020. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30457-6

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21109/kesmas.v15i2.4010