Knowing the Psychological Risks of Anti-epidemic Rescue Teams for COVID-19 by Simplified Risk Probability Scale (preprint)

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to anti-epidemic rescue teams composed ofnon-medical professionals, such as security guards and volunteers. Our study aims to address how the Simplified Risk Probability Scale (SRPS), such as the Self-Assessed Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-Assessed Depression Scale (SDS), can be used to assess the psychological risks of anti-epidemic rescue teams when facing COVID-19 and how to implement appropriate interventions for high-risk groups.  Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional study and collected data through an online survey. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling and were provided with informed consent. The survey included a COVID-19 self-made survey scale, as well as the SAS and SDS questionnaires to assess depression and anxiety symptoms. The study followed ethical standards and included 566 respondents from Lanzhou, China.  Results: 43.8% of anti-epidemic rescue team members experienced depression symptoms, while 33.3% experienced anxiety. The severity of depression and anxiety symptoms was positively correlated with the duration of work and the frequency of contact with COVID-19 patients. Female participants and those with lower education levels were more likely to experience thesesymptoms.  Conclusions: Our research has found that the psychological risks of rescue teams when facing COVID-19 come from anxiety and depression, and compelling psychological intervention can significantly reduce these risks. Overall, this study provides important insights into the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on anti-epidemic rescue teams and underscores the need for ongoing support and resources to protect the mental health of these essential workers.

Transmissibility of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Chinese cities with different transmission dynamics of imported cases (preprint)

BackgroundMonitoring the time-varying reproduction number (Rt) of the disease is useful in determining whether there is sustained transmission in a population. In this study, we examined Rt of COVID-19 and compared its transmissibility between different intervention periods in Hangzhou and Shenzhen. MethodsDaily aggregated counts of confirmed imported and local cases between January 1, 2020 and March 13, 2020 were analysed. A likelihood function was constructed to estimate Rt, accounting for imported cases. ResultsAlthough Hangzhou had fewer number of cases than Shenzhen, Shenzhen had higher proportion of imported cases than Hangzhou (83% vs 29%). Since the epidemic of COVID-19 in Shenzhen was dominated by imported cases, Rt was kept below unity through time. On the contrary, Rt was greater than unity in Hangzhou from 16 January to 7 February due to the surge in local cases. Credits to the Wuhan lockdown and outbreak response measures following the local lockdown, Rt decreased steadily and dropped below unity in mid-February. ConclusionThe lockdown measures and local outbreak responses helped reduce the potential of local transmission in Hangzhou and Shenzhen. Meanwhile, cities with similar epidemic trend could have different transmission dynamics given the variation in imported cases.

Monitoring Disease Transmissibility of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease in Zhejiang, China (preprint)

We monitored the transmissibility of 2019 novel coronavirus disease in Zhejiang accounting the transmissions from imported cases. Even though Zhejiang is one of the worst-affected provinces, an interruption of disease transmission (i.e. instantaneous reproduction numbers <1) was observed in early/mid-February after an early social-distancing response to the outbreak.