Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone data

Governments around the world have implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions to limit the transmission of COVID-19. Here we assess if increasing NPI stringency was associated with a reduction in COVID-19 cases in Ghana. While lockdowns and physical distancing have proven effective for reducing COV...

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Main Authors: Hamish Gibbs, Yang Liu, Sam Abbott, Isaac Baffoe-Nyarko, Dennis O. Laryea, Ernest Akyereko, Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Ivy Asantewaa Asante, Oriol Mitjà, William Ampofo, Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Michael Marks, Rosalind M. Eggo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10021296/?tool=EBI
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author Hamish Gibbs
Yang Liu
Sam Abbott
Isaac Baffoe-Nyarko
Dennis O. Laryea
Ernest Akyereko
Patrick Kuma-Aboagye
Ivy Asantewaa Asante
Oriol Mitjà
William Ampofo
Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
Michael Marks
Rosalind M. Eggo
author_facet Hamish Gibbs
Yang Liu
Sam Abbott
Isaac Baffoe-Nyarko
Dennis O. Laryea
Ernest Akyereko
Patrick Kuma-Aboagye
Ivy Asantewaa Asante
Oriol Mitjà
William Ampofo
Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
Michael Marks
Rosalind M. Eggo
author_sort Hamish Gibbs
collection DOAJ
description Governments around the world have implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions to limit the transmission of COVID-19. Here we assess if increasing NPI stringency was associated with a reduction in COVID-19 cases in Ghana. While lockdowns and physical distancing have proven effective for reducing COVID-19 transmission, there is still limited understanding of how NPI measures are reflected in indicators of human mobility. Further, there is a lack of understanding about how findings from high-income settings correspond to low and middle-income contexts. In this study, we assess the relationship between indicators of human mobility, NPIs, and estimates of Rt, a real-time measure of the intensity of COVID-19 transmission. We construct a multilevel generalised linear mixed model, combining local disease surveillance data from subnational districts of Ghana with the timing of NPIs and indicators of human mobility from Google and Vodafone Ghana. We observe a relationship between reductions in human mobility and decreases in Rt during the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in Ghana. We find that the strength of this relationship varies through time, decreasing after the most stringent period of interventions in the early epidemic. Our findings demonstrate how the association of NPI and mobility indicators with COVID-19 transmission may vary through time. Further, we demonstrate the utility of combining local disease surveillance data with large scale human mobility data to augment existing surveillance capacity to monitor the impact of NPI policies.
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spelling doaj.art-4e2ee4f927164979b62dbc064eda98a32023-09-03T10:09:23ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752022-01-0129Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone dataHamish GibbsYang LiuSam AbbottIsaac Baffoe-NyarkoDennis O. LaryeaErnest AkyerekoPatrick Kuma-AboagyeIvy Asantewaa AsanteOriol MitjàWilliam AmpofoFranklin Asiedu-BekoeMichael MarksRosalind M. EggoGovernments around the world have implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions to limit the transmission of COVID-19. Here we assess if increasing NPI stringency was associated with a reduction in COVID-19 cases in Ghana. While lockdowns and physical distancing have proven effective for reducing COVID-19 transmission, there is still limited understanding of how NPI measures are reflected in indicators of human mobility. Further, there is a lack of understanding about how findings from high-income settings correspond to low and middle-income contexts. In this study, we assess the relationship between indicators of human mobility, NPIs, and estimates of Rt, a real-time measure of the intensity of COVID-19 transmission. We construct a multilevel generalised linear mixed model, combining local disease surveillance data from subnational districts of Ghana with the timing of NPIs and indicators of human mobility from Google and Vodafone Ghana. We observe a relationship between reductions in human mobility and decreases in Rt during the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in Ghana. We find that the strength of this relationship varies through time, decreasing after the most stringent period of interventions in the early epidemic. Our findings demonstrate how the association of NPI and mobility indicators with COVID-19 transmission may vary through time. Further, we demonstrate the utility of combining local disease surveillance data with large scale human mobility data to augment existing surveillance capacity to monitor the impact of NPI policies.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10021296/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Hamish Gibbs
Yang Liu
Sam Abbott
Isaac Baffoe-Nyarko
Dennis O. Laryea
Ernest Akyereko
Patrick Kuma-Aboagye
Ivy Asantewaa Asante
Oriol Mitjà
William Ampofo
Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
Michael Marks
Rosalind M. Eggo
Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone data
PLOS Global Public Health
title Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone data
title_full Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone data
title_fullStr Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone data
title_full_unstemmed Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone data
title_short Association between mobility, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and COVID-19 transmission in Ghana: A modelling study using mobile phone data
title_sort association between mobility non pharmaceutical interventions and covid 19 transmission in ghana a modelling study using mobile phone data
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10021296/?tool=EBI
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