Supply of basic necessities to vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic: Empirical evidence from Shanghai, China.

Background: In spite of initial widespread skepticism, city lockdown has been proved to be an effective short-term tool in containing and delaying the spread of a viral epidemic. The measures to ensure the supply of the basic necessities adequately and equitably, especially for those vulnerable ones has become a major challenge faced by all countries taking a city lockdown measure during the epidemic. Methods: Data was collected through relevant government documents, work records, policy reports, media reports and the online-work information platform designed by the research group. Based on these references, the study analyzed the mainly technical difficulties and the countermeasures of the supply process, and summarized the key characteristics of basic necessities supply strategy for vulnerable groups in Shanghai. Results: The supply strategy for vulnerable groups in Shanghai covers 16 districts, 232 streets and 6,028 neighborhood communities, which has already been in test running in April in some districts. The practical experience in Shanghai solved three key materials supply problems (lack of purchase channels, insufficient material reserves, insufficient transportation capacity) faced by government during the city lockdown, and showed three essential characteristics (overall coordination, community-centered intervention, technical support). Conclusions: The findings in this study may provide some suggestions to other countries about how to better manage the preparation, dispatch and transportation of basic necessities in shortage for those vulnerable ones during the city lockdown.

Potential Factors Contributing to Ozone Production in AQUAS-Kyoto Campaign in Summer 2020: Natural Source-Related Missing OH Reactivity and Heterogeneous HO2/RO2 Loss.

This study presents total OH reactivity, ancillary trace species, HO2 reactivity, and complex isoprene-derived RO2 reactivity due to ambient aerosols measured during the air quality study (AQUAS)-Kyoto campaign in September, 2020. Observations were conducted during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic (associated with reduced anthropogenic emissions). The spatial distribution of missing OH reactivity highlights that the origin of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may be from natural-emission areas. For the first time, the real-time loss rates of HO2 and RO2 onto ambient aerosols were measured continuously and alternately. Ozone production sensitivity was investigated considering unknown trace species and heterogeneous loss effects of XO2 (≡HO2 + RO2) radicals. Missing OH reactivity enhanced the ozone production potential by a factor of 2.5 on average. Heterogeneous loss of radicals could markedly suppress ozone production under low NO/NOx conditions with slow gas-phase reactions of radicals and change the ozone regime from VOC- to NOx-sensitive conditions. This study quantifies the relationship of missing OH reactivity and aerosol uptake of radicals with ozone production in Kyoto, a low-emission suburban area. The result has implications for future NOx-reduction policies. Further studies may benefit from the combination of chemical transport models and inverse modeling over a wide spatiotemporal range.