ABSTRACT
Objectives: The whole picture of the disturbance in endoscopy performance caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan remains to be clarified. Therefore, the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society-Tohoku conducted this questionnaire survey in Tohoku region of Japan. Methods: A questionnaire on the number of diagnostic endoscopy procedures and resulting diagnosed cancers in 2019 and 2020 was sent to all guidance/guidance cooperation hospitals in the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society who worked in the Tohoku region. The percentage change was calculated by comparing the numbers in 2020 with those in 2019 (the pre-COVID-19 period). Results: Among the applicable 89 guidance/guidance cooperation hospitals, 83 (94%) returned the questionnaire. The number of endoscopy procedures promptly decreased to the nadir in April and May 2020 (during the first state of emergency in Japan);however, it recovered relatively quickly, within a few months after the state of emergency was lifted. Consequently, the annual reduction in the number of endoscopy procedures in 2020 (in comparison to 2019) was 10.1% for esophagogastroduodenoscopy and 7.9% for colonoscopy. The reduction in the number of diagnostic endoscopy procedures led to a 5.5% reduction in esophagogastric cancer and 2.7% in colorectal cancer. Conclusions: This is the most comprehensive survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of endoscopy and the resulting diagnosis of cancer in Japan. Understanding the magnitude of the decline in endoscopic examinations and cancer detection due to the pandemic is critical to understanding how many people will ultimately be affected and establishing a strategy for providing endoscopy during national emergencies. Copyright © 2023 The Authors. DEN Open published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.
ABSTRACT
Understanding how people's interest and emotional state change in response to news coverage of a particular topic and elucidating the characteristics of these changes can reveal the shifting nature of attention and emotion. We analyzed people's interest and emotional responses expressed via Twitter in response to news coverage of announcements of new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a case study. As a measure of interest, we examined replies to tweets of news items posted by media outlets on Twitter, and classified the emotional content of each reply tweet using Plutchik's wheel of emotion. The analysis suggested that people were most interested in COVID-19 case numbers in April 2020, when the first wave of cases occurred and the first emergency declaration was issued, and in July 2020, when the second wave of cases emerged. The results revealed that fear was the most commonly expressed emotion. The ratio of fear-related tweets was highest in February and March 2020, a time at which new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in various locations and there was substantial public discussion regarding whether Japan would declare a state of emergency for the first time. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
We study social distancing in an epidemiological model. Distancing reduces the individual's probability of getting infected but comes at a cost. Equilibrium distancing flattens the curve and decreases the final size of the epidemic. We examine the effects of distancing on the outset, the peak, and the final size of the epidemic. First, the prevalence increases beyond the initial value only if the transmission rate is in the intermediate region. Second, the peak of the epidemic is non-monotonic in the transmission rate. A reduction in the transmission rate can increase the peak. However, a decrease in the cost of distancing always flattens the curve. Third, both a reduction in the transmission rate as well as a reduction in the cost of distancing decrease the final size of the epidemic. Our results suggest that public policies that decrease the transmission rate can lead to unintended negative consequences in the short run but not in the long run. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between interventions that affect the transmission rate and interventions that affect contact rates. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.