Objectives This study was conducted to determine the impact of the strengthening or relaxation of face covering mandates on the subsequent national case incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe as the full vaccination rate was increasing.
Methods European countries in which case incidence increased for 3 consecutive weeks were monitored and analyzed using COVID-19 incidence data shared by the World Health Organization (WHO). The epidemic trend of COVID-19 in Europe was compared with that of countries elsewhere in the world based on WHO weekly epidemiological reports from June 20 to October 30, 2021. In addition, this study provided insight into the impact of government mask mandates on COVID-19 incidence in Europe by measuring the index scores of those facial covering policies before and after mandate relaxation or strengthening. The effects of the vaccination rate and the speed of vaccination on COVID-19 incidence were also analyzed.
Results The incidence of COVID-19 after the relaxation of face covering mandates was significantly higher than before relaxation. However, no significant difference was observed in vaccination rate between countries with increased and decreased incidence. Instead, rapid vaccination delayed the resurgence in incidence.
Conclusion The findings suggest that face covering policies in conjunction with rapid vaccination efforts are essential to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Non-pharmaceutical interventions in containing COVID-19 pandemic after the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines: a systematic review Xiaona He, Huiting Chen, Xinyu Zhu, Wei Gao BMC Public Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Although the health care systems in Europe are considered the global benchmark, European nations were severely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This manuscript aimed to examine the strategies implemented to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Russia and their outcomes in terms of the number of cases, testing, and deaths. This is the first review of its kind that extensively analyzes the preparedness, mitigation, and response strategies against the COVID-19 pandemic adopted by these nations. This paper further suggests a strategic preparedness model for future pandemics. From the analysis, we found that a decentralized approach, prompt decision-making and timely execution, coordination between local health authorities, and public participation in the implementation of strategies could substantially reduce the case fatality rate. Nations with a high percentage of gross domestic product invested in the health sector, as well as more nurses, physicians, hospital beds, intensive care unit beds, and ventilators, better managed the pandemic. Instead, nations that postponed their pandemic response by delaying tracking, tracing, testing, quarantine, and lockdown were badly affected. The lessons learned from the present pandemic could be used as a guide to prepare for further pandemics.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Psychological impact and development of autistic traits in children during the COVID 19 Pandemic: A study through Guardian Waseem Iqbal, Mudassir Hassan, Parveez Ahmed Mir, Syed Kaiser IP International Journal of Medical Paediatrics an.2024; 9(4): 135. CrossRef
The Safety of Covishield (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) Vaccine after Three Doses Vaccination under Mass Vaccination Program of Government of India Narinder Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Vikram Bhandari, Rahat Kumar AMEI's Current Trends in Diagnosis & Treatment.2024; 7(2): 36. CrossRef
A phenomenological experience of trainers in preparedness training during COVID-19 pandemic: Trainers perspective from tertiary care institute Rakesh Sharma, Prasuna Jelly, Kusum Kumari, Arun Varghese, K. Hemanthkumar, C. Vasantha Kalyani, Neha Singh, Shalinee Rao International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences.2024; 20: 100711. CrossRef
Antibody titre in infants of covid-19 infected mothers Shivani Sharma, Pushkar Lal Meena, Rameshwar Lal Suman, Jaya Ninama IP International Journal of Medical Paediatrics an.2023; 9(2): 68. CrossRef
A study to assess the level of stress among nursing students of IUST during COVID-19 pandemic Javaid Ahmad Mir, Asmat Parveen, Suheel Rashid Wani, Tayyibah Nisar, Sakeena Majeed, Wahida Kausar, Basit Ul Islam IP International Journal of Medical Paediatrics an.2022; 8(1): 15. CrossRef
Strategy to prevent infection from Covid-19 among security officers of tertiary care centre: A preexperimental study Rakesh Sharma, KusumK Rohilla, Lisa Chadha, Priyanka Malhotra, S Sharmila, Prasuna Jelly Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.2021; 10(9): 3257. CrossRef
Post COVID-19 changes in the perception of the parents towards dentistry for their child Nahid Iftikhar, Shalini Dixit, Aditi Yadav IP International Journal of Medical Paediatrics an.2021; 7(3): 155. CrossRef
A comparative study of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in the rural and urban population of Uttarakhand, India Rakesh Sharma, Prasuna Jelly, Vishwas AS, Lisa Chadha, Vartika Saxena, Latika Mohan Journal of Global Health Economics and Policy.2021;[Epub] CrossRef