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. 2022 Nov 29:10.1002/jmv.28354. Online ahead of print. doi: 10.1002/jmv.28354

Non‐Pharmaceutical Interventions Reduce the Incidence, and Mortality of COVID‐19: A Study based on the Survey from the International COVID‐19 Research Network (ICRN)

Seung Hyun Park 1,, Sung Hwi Hong 1,, Kwanghyun Kim 2,3,, Seung Won Lee 4,5, Dong Keon Yon 6, Sun Jae Jung 3,, Ziad Abdeen 7, Mohamed Lemine Cheikh Brahim Ahmed 8, Abdulwahed Al Serouri 9, Waleed Al‐Herz 10, Kannan Subbaram 11, P Shaik Syed 11, Sheeza Ali 11, KOSAR ALI 12, Humaid O Al‐Shamsi 13, Oidov Baatarkhuu 14, Henning Bay Nielsen 15,16, Enrico BERNINI‐CARRI 17, Anastasiia Bondarenko 18, Ayun Cassell 19, Akway Cham 20, Melvin LK Chua 21,22, Sufia Dadabhai 23, Tchin Darre 24, Hayk Davtyan 25, Elena Dragioti 26, Barbora East 27, R Jeffrey Edwards 28, Martina Ferioli 29,30, Tsvetoslav Georgiev 31, Lilian Ghandour 32, Harapan Harapan 33, Po‐Ren Hsueh 34, Aamer Ikram 35, Shigeru Inoue 36, Louis Jacob 37,38, Slobodan Janković 39, Umesh Jayarajah 40, Milos Jesenak 41, Pramath Kakodkar 42, Nathan Kapata 43, Yohannes Kebede 44, Yousef Khader 45, Meron Kifle 46, David Koh 47, Višnja Kokić Maleš 48, Katarzyna Kotfis 49, Ai Koyanagi 50, James‐Paul Kretchy 51, Sulaiman Lakoh 52, Jinhee Lee 53, Jun Young Lee 53, Maria da Luz Lima Mendonça 54, Lowell Ling 55, Jorge Llibre‐Guerra 56, Masaki Machida 36, Richard Makurumidze 57, Saad Mallah 58, Ziad A Memish 59, IVAN MENDOZA 60, Sergey Moiseev 61, Thomas Nadasdy 62, Chen Nahshon 63, SILVIO A ÑAMENDYS‐SILVA 64, Blaise Nguendo Yongsi 65, Amalea Dulcene Nicolasora 66, Zhamilya Nugmanova 67, Hans Oh 68, Atte Oksanen 69, OLUWATOMI OWOPETU 70, Zeynep Ozge Ozguler 71, Gonzalo Emanuel Perez 72, Krit Pongpirul 73, Marius Rademaker 74, Nemanja Radojevic 75, Anna Roca 76, Alfonso J Rodriguez‐Morales 77,78, Sandro G Viveiros Rosa 79, Enver Roshi 80, Khwaja Mir Islam SAEED 81, Ranjit Sah 82, Boris Sakakushev 83,84,85, Dina Ebrahem Sallam 86, BRIJESH SATHIAN 87, Patrick Schober 88, Zoran Simonović 89, Tanu Singhal 90, Natia Skhvitaridze 91, Marco Solmi 92,93,94,95, kalthoum Tizaoui 96, JOHN THATO TLHAKANELO 97, Julio Torales 98, Smith Torres‐Roman 99, Dimitrios Tsartsalis 100, Jadamba Tsolmon 101, Duarte Nuno Vieira 102, Guy Wanghi 103, Uwe Wollina 104, Ren‐He Xu 105, Lin Yang 106, Kashif Zia 107, Muharem Zildzic 108, Jae Il Shin 109,, Lee Smith 110
PMCID: PMC9878143  PMID: 36447130

Abstract

Background

The recently emerged novel coronavirus, “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2)”, caused a highly contagious disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). It has severely damaged the world's most developed countries and has turned into a major threat for low‐ and middle‐income countries. Since its emergence in late 2019, medical interventions have been substantial, and most countries relied on public health measures collectively known as nonpharmaceutical interventions.

Aims

To centralize the accumulative knowledge on non‐pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) against COVID‐19 for each country under one worldwide consortium.

Methods

International COVID‐19 Research Network collaborators developed a cross‐sectional online‐survey to assess the implications of NPIs and sanitary supply on incidence and mortality of COVID‐19. Survey was conducted between January 1 and February 1, 2021, and participants from 92 countries/territories completed it. The association between NPIs, sanitation supplies and incidence and mortality were examined by multivariate regression, with log‐transformed value of population as an offset value.

Results

Majority of countries/territories applied several preventive strategies including social distancing (100.0%), quarantine (100.0%), isolation (98.9%), and school closure (97.8%). Individual‐level preventive measures such as personal hygiene (100.0%) and wearing facial mask (94.6% at hospital; 93.5% at mass transportation; 91.3% in mass gathering facilities) were also frequently applied. Quarantine at a designated place was negatively associated with incidence and mortality compared to home quarantine. Isolation at a designated place was also associated with reduced mortality compared to home isolation. Recommendations to use sanitizer for personal hygiene reduced incidence compared to recommendation to use soap did. Deprivation of mask was associated with increased incidence. Higher incidence and mortality were found in countries/territories with higher economic level. Mask deprivation was pervasive regardless of economic level.

Conclusion

NPIs against COVID‐19 such as using sanitizer, quarantine, and isolation can decrease incidence and mortality of COVID‐19.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Keywords: COVID‐19, Isolation, Mask, Non‐pharmacologic interventions, Quarantine, Sanitizer


Articles from Journal of Medical Virology are provided here courtesy of Wiley

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