Social distancing helps prevent COVID-19

 

Research conducted at

MD Anderson Cancer Centre, USA study found that implementing social distancing policies in practice in the U.S. and internationally corresponded with reductions in the spread of the coronavirus. The results suggest that practicing social distancing is an effective public health initiative to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Maintaining at least 6-foot distance from others, whenever possible, and wearing a mask when in public. The study also suggests to avoid non-essential travel and activities, and minimizing interactions in indoor spaces.

“We realize that cancer patients are highly vulnerable to COVID-19, so it is important to us to understand whether the safety measures we have are effective and could benefit our patients,” says Raghu Kalluri, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the research study, which is published recently in the journal PLOS ONE.

social-distance

“From our data-driven analysis, it became clear that practicing social distancing can have a huge impact,” Dr. Kalluri adds. “For our patients and their family members, it’s a reminder that taking simple steps like practicing social distancing and staying home when possible can go a long way to protecting against COVID-19 infections, particularly for those at highest risk.”

Social distancing policies prevented more than 1.5 million COVID-19 cases in two weeks the study highlights.

Based on their analysis, Dr. Kalluri and his colleagues estimate that national social distancing policies in 46 countries prevented more than 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 in a two-week period. That’s a 65% reduction in new cases.

In the U.S., the researchers analyzed the spread of SARS-CoV-2 across each of the 50 states, looking at cases before and after social distancing policies went into effect. Three states did not have social distancing policies in place

States with social distancing policies saw significant reductions in spread of the virus after the policies went into effect, compared to states without policies over a similar time period. Two of the states without policies had the smallest changes in transmission of all 50 states.

The researchers also looked at the effects of social distancing globally. They were able to collect data from 46 countries with national social distancing policies, 14 with regional policies and 76 with no policies.

Similar to the U.S. analysis, they found that countries with national policies had greater reductions in spread of the coronavirus after putting the policies in place.

Social distancing reduces mobility that can cause COVID-19 spread

The researchers also found, both in the U.S. and globally, that social distancing policies led to a decrease in community mobility. This is a measurement of the movement trends of residents between various locations, such as home, work and retail shops.

There was a strong correlation between lower community mobility and reduced spread of the coronavirus, suggesting that it is important for individuals to practice social distancing in order to see transmission rates drop.

It’s important for each individual to know that these measures can have a tremendous impact, and we hope this data provides evidence to encourage everyone to continue practicing social distancing so that together we can help control the spread of COVID-19 infections.”

In the absence of any potent drug and vaccine in the near future the SOCIAL DISTANCING is emerging as simple, yet powerful tool in containing disease.

Can it be effectively implemented in high density population like India, where small houses, crowded markets, malls, shopping complexes, bus stands and railways flooded with population. Responsible citizens should learn from this study and maintain simple measures like social distancing to gain maximum advantage and keep the disease at bay.

Pramod Sulikeri

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