Modest effects of contact reduction measures on the reproduction number of SARS-CoV-2 in the most affected European countries and the US

  1. Armin Ensser
  2. Pia Überla
  3. Klaus Überla

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Abstract

Population density, behaviour and cultural habits strongly influence the spread of pathogens. Consequently, key epidemiological parameters may vary from country to country. Many estimates of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 strongly depend on testing frequency and case definitions. The fatal cases due to SARS-CoV2 could be a more reliable parameter, since missing of deaths is less likely. We analysed the dynamics of new infection and death cases to estimate the daily reproduction numbers (R t ) and the effectiveness of control measures in the most affected European Countries and the US. In summary, calculating R t based on the daily number of deaths as well as of new infections may lead to more reliable estimates than those based on infection cases alone, as death based R t are expected to be less susceptible to testing bias or limited capacities.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.04.20.20067538: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.04.20.20067538 on medRxiv