Border closure and travel restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19: an update to a Cochrane review

  1. Ahmed M. Abou-Setta
  2. Otto LT Lam
  3. Viraj Kasireddy
  4. Nicole Askin
  5. Andrea C. Tricco

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Abstract

Background

COVID-19 has proven to be more difficult to manage for many reasons including its high infectivity rate. One of the potential ways to limit its spread is by limiting free travel across borders, including via air travel. The objective of this systematic review is to identify, critically-appraise and summarize evidence on border closures and travel restrictions.

Methods

This review is based on the Cochrane review: “International travel-related control measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic” and followed the same methodology. In brief, we searched for clinical and modelling studies in general health and COVID-19-specific bibliographic databases. The primary outcome categories were (i) cases avoided, (ii) cases detected, and (iii) a shift in epidemic development. Secondary outcomes were other infectious disease transmission outcomes, healthcare utilisation, resource requirements and adverse effects if identified in studies assessing at least one primary outcome.

Results

We included 43, mostly modelling, studies that met our inclusion criteria. Fourteen new studies were identified in the updated search, as well as updated companions (e.g., peer-reviewed publications that were previously only available as pre-prints). Most studies were of moderate to high quality. The added studies did not change the main conclusions of the Cochrane review nor the quality of the evidence (very low to low certainty). However, it did add to the evidence base for most outcomes.

Conclusions

Weak evidence supports the use of border closures to limit the spread of COVID-19 via air travel. Real-world studies are required to support these conclusions.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2022.01.22.22269686: (What is this?)

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

    Table 1: Rigor

    Ethicsnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    RandomizationAs this is an update to a Cochrane review,3 we conducted this review according to guidelines enumerated in the Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR), and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.4 We included randomized trials, non-randomized trials, observational studies, and modelling studies on the effects of travel related control measures affecting human travel during the COVID 19 pandemic.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    As this is an update to a Cochrane review,3 we conducted this review according to guidelines enumerated in the Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR), and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.4 We included randomized trials, non-randomized trials, observational studies, and modelling studies on the effects of travel related control measures affecting human travel during the COVID 19 pandemic.
    Cochrane
    suggested: (Cochrane Library, RRID:SCR_013000)
    Cochrane Intervention Reviews
    suggested: (Cochrane Library, RRID:SCR_013000)
    Search strategy for identification of studies: The Cochrane review3 search was adapted by excluding terms not related to COVID-19 (e.g., MERS, H1N1, SARS01) and an updated search conducted from Nov 2020 to Jun 2021 without any language restrictions.
    Cochrane review3
    suggested: None
    The search was conducted in general health and COVID-19-specific bibliographic databases [PubMed (NLM), Cochrane Covid (https://covid-19.cochrane.org/), Medrxiv (https://connect.
    PubMed
    suggested: (PubMed, RRID:SCR_004846)
    Cochrane Covid
    suggested: None
    Medrxiv.org/relate/content/181), and BioRXiv.
    BioRXiv
    suggested: (bioRxiv, RRID:SCR_003933)
    Data management was performed using Microsoft Excel™ 2010 (Excel version 14, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA).
    Microsoft Excel™
    suggested: (Microsoft Excel, RRID:SCR_016137)
    Excel
    suggested: None

    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.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    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 10.1101/2022.01.22.22269686v1 on medRxiv
  3. Version published to 10.1101/2022.01.22.22269686v2 on medRxiv