ABSTRACT
Violence against women is a problem worldwide, with economic costs ranging from 1% to 4% of global gross domestic product. During the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdowns, the United Nations coined the term the Shadow Pandemic to describe the increase in global violence against women. Here, using variation in the intensity of government-mandated lockdowns in India, we show that domestic violence complaints increase significantly in districts with the strictest lockdown rules. We find similarly large increases in cybercrime complaints. However, rape and sexual assault complaints decrease in districts with the strictest lockdowns, consistent with decreased female mobility in public spaces, public transport and workplaces where they might be at greater risk for rape and sexual assault. Medium-term analysis shows that increases in domestic violence complaints persist 1 year later, while other complaints related to rape, sexual assault and cybercrimes return to pre-lockdown levels.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Domestic Violence , Humans , Female , Pandemics/prevention & control , COVID-19/epidemiology , Communicable Disease Control , India/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The initial spread of COVID-19 halted economic activity as countries around the world restricted the mobility of their citizens. As a result, many migrant workers returned home, spreading the virus across borders. We investigate the relationship between migrant movements and the spread of COVID-19 using district-day-level data from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan (the 1st, 6th, and 7th largest sources of international migrant workers). We find that during the initial stage of the pandemic, a 1 SD increase in prior international out-migration relative to the district-wise average in India and Pakistan predicts a 48% increase in the number of cases per capita. In Bangladesh, however, the estimates are not statistically distinguishable from zero. Domestic out-migration predicts COVID-19 diffusion in India, but not in Bangladesh and Pakistan. In all three countries, the association of COVID-19 cases per capita and measures of international out-migration increases over time. The results show how migration data can be used to predict coronavirus hotspots. More broadly, the results are consistent with large cross-border negative externalities created by policies aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 in migrant-receiving countries.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to evaluate clinical and antimicrobial effects of a single episode of subgingival tetracycline or chlorhexidine (CHX) irrigation in the absence of scaling and root planing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis were recruited for this study, each providing four non-adjacent untreated periodontal pockets with a probing depth equal to or exceeding 6 mm. The four deep periodontal pockets in each patient were assigned to be irrigated with 150 ml each of CHX digluconate 0.2% (group A), tetracycline HCl at concentrations of 10 and 50 mg/ml (groups B and C, respectively), or sterile saline (group D) in a single episode. Recordings of plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and subgingival bacterial counts from paper point samples were made pre-irrigation (day 0), and at days 7, 28, 56, and 84, post-irrigation. RESULTS: The mean PI and GI scores for all the four groups were reduced post-irrigation, the reduction being significantly higher in group C compared to the other groups. The reduction in the PD and CAL was more significant in group C from day 0 to day 7, whereas the other groups showed minimal changes during this period. The change in the bacterial count was altered towards one of the periodontal health, it being more significant and consistent in the group C. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that subgingival irrigation with high concentrations of tetracycline may play a beneficial role in the management of chronic periodontitis patients.
