Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Dublin D01 A4A3, Ireland.
Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive East, D08 W2A8 Dublin, Ireland.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2021 Dec 10;43(4):714-722. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab049.
We describe the epidemiological trends and report and review the public health restrictions implemented during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.
The study reviewed confirmed cases of COVID-19 notified from 1 March to 18 July 2020. Data were obtained from the national COVID-19 Data Hub, the National Health Protection Surveillance Centre, the National Contact Management Programme and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
A total of 25 617 cases were notified during the study period. Weekly cases and deaths peaked in mid-April 2020 at 5701 and 316, respectively. Mean number of close contacts per case was lowest at 0.7 in April, rising to 6.6 by July. Outbreak settings shifted from travel and workplace in March, to healthcare in April. Restrictions implemented on 12 March extended to full lockdown on 27 March. Phased relaxation of restrictions commenced 18 May. Effective suppression of community transmission of COVID-19 was achieved by June 2020.
Lockdown is a crude population-level restriction effective in controlling COVID-19. Phased relaxation of restrictions in Ireland, however, led to an immediate increase in mean number of contacts per case, which facilitates viral transmission unless individual-level restrictions are adhered to. This demonstrates a limitation of lockdown as a long-term mechanism of pandemic control.
本研究描述了爱尔兰 COVID-19 大流行第一波期间的流行病学趋势和公共卫生限制措施，并对这些措施进行了报告和回顾。
本研究对 2020 年 3 月 1 日至 7 月 18 日期间报告的 COVID-19 确诊病例进行了回顾性分析。数据来自国家 COVID-19 数据中心、国家卫生保护监测中心、国家接触管理计划和欧洲疾病预防控制中心。
在研究期间共报告了 25617 例病例。每周病例和死亡人数在 2020 年 4 月中旬达到峰值，分别为 5701 例和 316 例。平均每个病例的密切接触者人数在 4 月最低，为 0.7，到 7 月上升至 6.6。疫情暴发场所从 3 月的旅行和工作场所转移到 4 月的医疗保健场所。3 月 12 日实施的限制措施扩展到 3 月 27 日的全面封锁。5 月 18 日开始逐步放宽限制。到 2020 年 6 月，成功实现了 COVID-19 在社区传播的有效抑制。
封锁是一种控制 COVID-19 的有效人口水平限制措施。然而，爱尔兰逐步放宽限制措施后，平均每个病例的接触者人数立即增加，这使得病毒传播更容易发生，除非个人层面的限制措施得到遵守。这表明封锁作为一种长期的大流行控制机制存在局限性。
