TY - JOUR
T1 - Changes in mobility patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia
T2 - Implications for the effectiveness of NPIs in Sub-Saharan Africa
AU - Loisate, Stacie
AU - Mutembo, Simon
AU - Arambepola, Rohan
AU - Makungo, Kabondo
AU - Kabalo, Elliot N.
AU - Sinyange, Nyambe B.
AU - Kapata, Nathan
AU - Liwewe, Mazyanga
AU - Silumezi, Andrew
AU - Chongwe, Gershom
AU - Kostandova, Natalya
AU - Truelove, Shaun
AU - Wesolowski, Amy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Loisate et al.
PY - 2023/10
Y1 - 2023/10
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many facets of human behavior, including human mobility partially driven by the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as stay at home orders, travel restrictions, and workplace and school closures. Given the importance of human mobility in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, there have been an increase in analyses of mobility data to understand the COVID-19 pandemic to date. However, despite an abundance of these analyses, few have focused on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Here, we use mobile phone calling data to provide a spatially refined analysis of subnational human mobility patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020-July 2021 in Zambia using transmission and mobility models. Overall, among highly trafficked intra-province routes, mobility decreased up to 52% during the time of the strictest NPIs (March-May 2020) compared to baseline. However, despite dips in mobility during the first wave of COVID-19 cases, mobility returned to baseline levels and did not drop again suggesting COVID-19 cases did not influence mobility in subsequent waves.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many facets of human behavior, including human mobility partially driven by the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as stay at home orders, travel restrictions, and workplace and school closures. Given the importance of human mobility in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, there have been an increase in analyses of mobility data to understand the COVID-19 pandemic to date. However, despite an abundance of these analyses, few have focused on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Here, we use mobile phone calling data to provide a spatially refined analysis of subnational human mobility patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020-July 2021 in Zambia using transmission and mobility models. Overall, among highly trafficked intra-province routes, mobility decreased up to 52% during the time of the strictest NPIs (March-May 2020) compared to baseline. However, despite dips in mobility during the first wave of COVID-19 cases, mobility returned to baseline levels and did not drop again suggesting COVID-19 cases did not influence mobility in subsequent waves.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85195462267&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85195462267&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000892
DO - 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000892
M3 - Article
C2 - 37906535
AN - SCOPUS:85195462267
SN - 2767-3375
VL - 3
JO - PLOS Global Public Health
JF - PLOS Global Public Health
IS - 10 October
M1 - e0000892
ER -