Inferring the effectiveness of government interventions against COVID-19

TLDR

Early in 2020, SARS‑CoV‑2 transmission was curtailed in many countries by combinations of nonpharmaceutical interventions. The study aims to discern the effectiveness of individual interventions using accumulated transmission data. The authors compiled data from 41 countries and applied a model to identify which nonpharmaceutical interventions most effectively reduced transmission during the early pandemic. Limiting gatherings to fewer than ten people, closing high‑exposure businesses, and closing schools and universities proved more effective than stay‑at‑home orders, which had only modest impact. Brauner et al.

Abstract

How to hold down transmission Early in 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission was curbed in many countries by imposing combinations of nonpharmaceutical interventions. Sufficient data on transmission have now accumulated to discern the effectiveness of individual interventions. Brauner et al. amassed and curated data from 41 countries as input to a model to identify the individual nonpharmaceutical interventions that were the most effective at curtailing transmission during the early pandemic. Limiting gatherings to fewer than 10 people, closing high-exposure businesses, and closing schools and universities were each more effective than stay-at-home orders, which were of modest effect in slowing transmission. Science , this issue p. eabd9338