TABLE 2.
Description of public health interventions in the HIT-COVID database (January 1-June 30, 2020)
| Intervention type | N | % | Potential human rights impacted | Vulnerable groups affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School closures | 3,067 | 28.61 | Right to access and quality of education; right to nutrition; right to work (for parents and teachers) | Low-income students and those without internet access; food-insecure families; parents without access to child care who cannot stay at home; children with learning disabilities or special needs |
| Border closures | 1,353 | 12.62 | Freedom of movement; right to seek asylum; right to health and well-being | Refugees; asylum seekers; undocumented individuals; expatriates; people who travel for work |
| Quarantine and isolation | 646 | 6.03 | Freedom of movement | People with physical and mental health issues; essential in-person workers; low-income workers; unemployed people; people with disabilities; elderly people; unstably housed persons; people living in crowded conditions |
| Limiting gatherings | 561 | 5.23 | Right to assembly; free speech; freedom of movement | Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs); people experiencing homelessness; protesters; people living in crowded conditions; minorities (racial/ ethnic, religious, or political) |
| Household confinement | 548 | 5.11 | Freedom of movement; right to health and well-being | People experiencing homelessness; domestic workers; people with mental health conditions; refugees and IDPs; essential workers; elderly people; people living in crowded conditions |
| Leisure and entertainment venue closures | 497 | 4.64 | Right to leisure; right to participate in cultural life; right to work | Service industry employees, particularly low-wage workers |
| Retail store closures | 469 | 4.38 | Right to work | Retail industry workers, particularly low-wage workers; people without internet or with low retail store density |
| Restaurant (dine-in) closures and restrictions | 450 | 4.20 | Right to work; right to participate in cultural life | Food service workers, especially low-income people |
| Symptom screening at borders | 425 | 3.97 | Right to protection against interference with individual privacy | People with disabilities or chronic diseases |
| Office closures | 362 | 3.38 | Right to work | People who cannot work from home |
| Limiting movement within administrative borders | 355 | 3.31 | Freedom of movement | IDPs and refugees; unstably housed people |
| Public space closures | 261 | 2.43 | Freedom of movement; right to peaceful assembly | People from sociopolitical minorities; unstably housed people |
| State of emergency | 256 | 2.39 | Right to self-will | Groups who face discrimination |
| Testing symptomatic individuals | 252 | 2.35 | Right to protection against interference with individual privacy | People with disabilities or chronic diseases; people with poor access to health care; low-income people |
| Mandated face mask use | 246 | 2.30 | Right to freedom of expression (communication ability for disabled) | People with disabilities or underlying health conditions |
| Public transport closures | 229 | 2.14 | Right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being; freedom of movement | Low-income people; people experiencing homelessness; schoolchildren; elderly people; undocumented individuals; rural populations |
| Contact tracing | 170 | 1.59 | Right to protection against interference with individual privacy | People with poor access to health care; low-income populations; people without internet access; undocumented people |
| Closure of nursing homes and long-term care facilities | 163 | 1.52 | Right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being | Elderly people; people with disabilities or chronic diseases |
| Military or police deployment | 162 | 1.51 | Right to protection from violence and inhumane treatment or punishment; right to protection from arbitrary arrest | People at risk of police or military violence or harassment (racial/ethnic, religious, sexual, and political minority groups) |
| Testing asymptomatic individuals | 157 | 1.47 | Right to protection against interference with individual privacy | People with disabilities or chronic diseases; people with poor access to health care; low-income people |
| Religious venue closures | 91 | 0.85 | Freedom of worship and religious practice, teaching, and observance | People belonging to religious or faith-based groups, particularly stigmatized minorities |
| Total interventions with potential human rights impact | 7,116 | 71.67 | — | — |
| Total interventions | 10,720 | 100.00 | — | — |