Karen A Grépin, Mingqi Song, Julianne Piper, Catherine Z Worsnop, Kelley Lee
{"title":"The adoption of international travel measures during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive analysis.","authors":"Karen A Grépin, Mingqi Song, Julianne Piper, Catherine Z Worsnop, Kelley Lee","doi":"10.1186/s12992-024-01071-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To describe the adoption of international travel measures during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To comprehensively analyze the measures adopted, we constructed a dataset based on the WHO's Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM) database, which covered 252 countries, territories, or other areas (CTAs), including all 194 WHO Member States, from December 31, 2019, to December 31, 2020. We examined the adoption of measures by type, over time, and by the implementing and targeted CTA, including their levels of income.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>We identified 11,431 international travel measures implemented during the first year of the pandemic. The adoption of measures was rapid and widespread: over 60% of Member States had adopted a travel measure before the WHO declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020. Initially, health screening and travel restrictions were the most adopted measures; however, quarantine and testing became more widely adopted over time. Although only a small portion of the total measures adopted constituted full border closure, approximately half of all Member States implemented this measure. Many travel measures targeted all CTAs but were unlikely to have been adopted universally enough to provide public health benefits. Low-income countries relied more on more universal measures, including full border closure, and were slower in scaling up testing compared to higher-income countries.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The adoption of international travel measures during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic varied across jurisdictions and over time. Lower-income countries used a different mix and scaled-up measures slower than higher-income countries. Understanding what measures were used is crucial for assessing their effectiveness in controlling the spread of COVID-19, reviewing the usefulness of the International Health Regulations, and informing future pandemic preparedness and response activities.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"20 1","pages":"72"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11451053/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Globalization and Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-024-01071-7","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: To describe the adoption of international travel measures during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: To comprehensively analyze the measures adopted, we constructed a dataset based on the WHO's Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM) database, which covered 252 countries, territories, or other areas (CTAs), including all 194 WHO Member States, from December 31, 2019, to December 31, 2020. We examined the adoption of measures by type, over time, and by the implementing and targeted CTA, including their levels of income.
Findings: We identified 11,431 international travel measures implemented during the first year of the pandemic. The adoption of measures was rapid and widespread: over 60% of Member States had adopted a travel measure before the WHO declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020. Initially, health screening and travel restrictions were the most adopted measures; however, quarantine and testing became more widely adopted over time. Although only a small portion of the total measures adopted constituted full border closure, approximately half of all Member States implemented this measure. Many travel measures targeted all CTAs but were unlikely to have been adopted universally enough to provide public health benefits. Low-income countries relied more on more universal measures, including full border closure, and were slower in scaling up testing compared to higher-income countries.
Conclusion: The adoption of international travel measures during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic varied across jurisdictions and over time. Lower-income countries used a different mix and scaled-up measures slower than higher-income countries. Understanding what measures were used is crucial for assessing their effectiveness in controlling the spread of COVID-19, reviewing the usefulness of the International Health Regulations, and informing future pandemic preparedness and response activities.
期刊介绍：
"Globalization and Health" is a pioneering transdisciplinary journal dedicated to situating public health and well-being within the dynamic forces of global development. The journal is committed to publishing high-quality, original research that explores the impact of globalization processes on global public health. This includes examining how globalization influences health systems and the social, economic, commercial, and political determinants of health.
The journal welcomes contributions from various disciplines, including policy, health systems, political economy, international relations, and community perspectives. While single-country studies are accepted, they must emphasize global/globalization mechanisms and their relevance to global-level policy discourse and decision-making.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
