The ICOH Survey on COVID-19: global view on policy responses at country level

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has created an extraordinary challenge to public health and the world of work. Based on its role in the occupational safety and health (OSH) field, the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) developed a survey aimed to collect information on public health policies, prevention measures, and other policies put in place by the governments of the countries in the world to contain the pandemic. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire asking information on COVID-19 data, public health policies and prevention measures, support measures for economy, work, and education, Personal Protective Equipment, Intensive Care Units, contact tracing, return to work, ICOH against COVID-19. The questionnaire was administered to more than 110 ICOH National Secretaries and other senior OSH experts. Collected data refer to the period ranging from the beginning of the pandemic in each country to 30 June 2020. Results: We received 73 valid questionnaires from 73 countries (response rate: 64.6%). Most of the respondents (71.2%) reported that the state of emergency was declared in their country, and 86.1% reported lockdown measures. Most of the respondents (66.7%) affirmed that the use of face masks was compulsory in their country. As for containment measures, 97.2% indicated that mass gatherings (meetings) were limited. Regarding workplace closing, the most affected sector was entertainment (90.1%). Conclusions: The results of this survey are useful to gain a global view on COVID-19 policy responses at country level.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on scientific knowledge: the future perspective of virtual Conferences

Introduction: The measures taken to combat the pandemic, such as travel restrictions, closed borders and gathering bans, led to cancellations of many conferences, meetings and workshops, forcing the scientific community to identify new ways of disseminating scientific knowledge. This resulted in the transition from traditional face-to-face meetings, where practitioners and academics meet to exchange knowledge, network and develop collaborations, to the development of new events in digital formats. This study aimed at investigating the impact of the spreading of virtual conferences on the field of research. Materials and Methods: We made a SWOT analysis to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this new way of organizing scientific conferences, as compared to face-to-face conferences in terms of effectiveness of result dissemination, networking opportunities, and policy development. Results: Among the biggest opportunities of virtual conferences, revealed by the SWOT analysis, there are larger accessibility, equity (in terms of sex, ethnicity, geographical setting, physical ability, health, and career stage) reduced expenses, environmental sustainability and a better work-life balance. On the contrary, reduction in network building and in research capacity/cooperation, lower interest of local stakeholders and “digital exclusion” represent the most important threats. Conclusions: Organizing a virtual conference does not mean concentrating only on the offline or the online side of the event, but rather to integrate the two sides in order to offer the participants the opportunity to choose how to parti

Health, Transport and the Environment: The Impacts of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Air Pollution

Lockdown measures were initiated in Italy on March 9th after the start of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic to flatten the epidemic curve. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of restrictive measures in the Apulia Region, southern Italy, on air quality from March to April 2020. We applied a dual-track approach. We assessed citizen mobility and vehicle traffic with mobility network data and information obtained from satellite tracking, and we evaluated and compared pollutant concentration data as measured by monitoring stations maintained by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection and Prevention of Apulia (ARPA). The results showed a decrease in the weekly mean NO₂ concentration recorded by urban traffic stations during the lockdown period. In particular, in the city of Bari, the average NO₂ concentration decreased from 62.2 mug/m³ in March 2019 to 48.2 mug/m³ in March 2020. Regarding PM10 levels, the average concentrations at the individual traffic stations showed no particular variation compared to those in the same months of the previous year, except for Bari-Caldarola Station in March 2019/2020 (p-value < 0.001) and in April 2019/2020 (p-value = 0.04). In particular the average in March 2019 was ~26.9 mug/m³, while that in March 2020 was ~22.9 mug/m³. For April, the average concentration of PM10 in 2019 was 27.9 mug/m³, while in 2020, the average was ~22.4 mug/m³. This can be explained by the fact that PM10 levels are influenced by multiple variables such as weather and climate conditions and desert dust advections.