COVID-19: Social distancing is more effective than travel bans, study
finds

Date:
September 28, 2020
Source:
University of Southern Denmark
Summary:
Travel bans will delay the peak of infection with days, while
social distancing has a much stronger impact, amounting in up to
4 weeks delay, scientists report.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Forecasting the spreading of a pandemic is paramount in helping
governments to enforce a number of social and economic measures, apt at
curbing the pandemic and dealing with its aftermath.


==========================================================================
Now researchers present an efficient model to study and forecast the
spreading dynamics and containment across different regions of the world.

"We discover that social distancing measures are more effective than
travel limitations across borders in delaying the epidemic peak,"
says Professor of theoretical physics, Francesco Sannino, University of Southern Denmark and Danish Institute of Advanced Science, continuing:
"The results corroborate our finding that the travel across regions sparks
the epidemic diffusion, which then develops in each region independently." Virus-induced pandemics like COVID-19 are a threat to humans not only
because of the number of human lives taken but also because of the
profound and long- lasting impact on the economy and social dynamics.

While different empirical models already exist to describe the epidemic dynamics locally and globally, a coherent framework is missing. Using
a powerful language and methodology borrowed from high energy physics, Professor Sannino and his colleague Giacomo Cacciapaglia from University
of Lyon, can now study and forecast the spreading dynamics and containment across different regions of the world.

"We plan on embarking on a world-wide monitoring to make global
projections that will help governments and industries make containment
plans and strategize about reopening society and how to best implement
border control," says Professor Sannino.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Southern_Denmark. Original written by Birgitte
Svennevig. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Francesco Sannino. Interplay of social
distancing
and border restrictions for pandemics via the epidemic
renormalisation group framework. Scientific Reports, 2020; 10 (1)
DOI: 10.1038/s41598- 020-72175-4 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928125020.htm

--- up 5 weeks, 6 hours, 50 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)