Compliance to Viral Load Monitoring Schedules Among Women Attending Prevention of Vertical HIV Transmission Services Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load (VL) monitoring was likely interrupted during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We used routine data on repeat VL testing among 667 prevention of vertical HIV transmission (PVT) clients in Ehlanzeni district, to determine compliance to VL testing recommendations and associated factors during different time periods: pre-COVID-19, transition, and COVID-19. Descriptive and multivariable Poisson regression analyses were conducted, with and without including revised PVT-guidelines rolled out in January-2020. Among 405 women with ≥ 2 VL tests, the overall median age was 30 years (interquartile range: 26-35 years). Compliance to recommended VL testing guidelines ranged between 81.5% (172/211) and 92.3% (191/207) at different time periods. Across all three periods and when revised PVT-guidelines were used, being compliant was significantly reduced among those with earliest VL = 50-999 copies/ml (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.71 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61-0.82], p value < 0.001) and VL ≥ 1000 copies/ml (IRR = 0.18 [95% CI 0.09-0.36], p value < 0.001). When guideline revisions were excluded, compliance was only significantly reduced among those with VL ≥ 1000 copies/ml (IRR = 0.14 [95% CI 0.06-0.32], p value < 0.001) and increased during the COVID-19 period versus pre-COVID-19 (IRR = 1.10 [95% CI 1.05-1.15], p value < 0.001). Similar significant associations between compliance and VL level were observed when the COVID-19 period was analyzed separately. Significantly increased compliance to VL testing among the 25-34 years age-group versus younger women was also observed across all periods. These results highlight the importance of strengthening strategies such as short message service reminders and educational messaging, reaching all age-groups, to fast-track implementation targets for VL monitoring.

Different trajectories of depression, anxiety and anhedonia symptoms in the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in a UK longitudinal sample.

BACKGROUND: While studies from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic have described initial negative effects on mental health and exacerbating mental health inequalities, longer-term studies are only now emerging. METHOD: In total, 34 465 individuals in the UK completed online questionnaires and were re-contacted over the first 12 months of the pandemic. We used growth mixture modelling to identify trajectories of depression, anxiety and anhedonia symptoms using the 12-month data. We identified sociodemographic predictors of trajectory class membership using multinomial regression models. RESULTS: Most participants had consistently low symptoms of depression or anxiety over the year of assessments (60%, 69% respectively), and a minority had consistently high symptoms (10%, 15%). We also identified participants who appeared to show improvements in symptoms as the pandemic progressed, and others who showed the opposite pattern, marked symptom worsening, until the second national lockdown. Unexpectedly, most participants showed stable low positive affect, indicating anhedonia, throughout the 12-month period. From regression analyses, younger age, reporting a previous mental health diagnosis, non-binary, or self-defined gender, and an unemployed or a student status were significantly associated with membership of the stable high symptom groups for depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: While most participants showed little change in their depression and anxiety symptoms across the first year of the pandemic, we highlight the divergent responses of subgroups of participants, who fared both better and worse around national lockdowns. We confirm that previously identified predictors of negative outcomes in the first months of the pandemic also predict negative outcomes over a 12-month period.

Life in lockdown: a longitudinal study investigating the impact of the UK COVID-19 lockdown measures on lifestyle behaviours and mental health.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the UK government enforcing lockdown restrictions to control virus transmission. Such restrictions present opportunities and barriers for physical activity and healthy eating. Emerging research suggests that in the early stages of the pandemic, physical activity levels decreased, consumption of unhealthy foods increased, while levels of mental distress increased. Our aims were to understand patterns of diet, physical activity, and mental health during the first lockdown, how these had changed twelve-months later, and the factors associated with change. METHODS: An online survey was conducted with UK adults (N = 636; 78% female) during the first national lockdown (May-June 2020). The survey collected information on demographics, physical activity, diet, mental health, and how participants perceived lifestyle behaviours had changed from before the pandemic. Participants who provided contact details were invited to complete a twelve-month follow-up survey (May-June 2021), 160 adults completed the survey at both time-points. Descriptive statistics, T-tests and McNemar Chi Square statistics were used to assess patterns of diet, physical activity, and mental health at baseline and change in behaviours between baseline and follow-up. Linear regression models were conducted to explore prospective associations between demographic and psycho-social variables at baseline with change in healthy eating habit, anxiety, and wellbeing respectively. RESULTS: Between baseline and follow-up, healthy eating habit strength, and the importance of and confidence in eating healthily reduced. Self-rated health (positively) and confidence in eating healthily (negatively) were associated with change in healthy eating habit. There were no differences between baseline and follow-up for depression or physical activity. Mean anxiety score reduced, and wellbeing increased, from baseline to follow-up. Living with children aged 12-17 (compared to living alone) was associated with an increase in anxiety, while perceiving mental health to have worsened during the first lockdown (compared to staying the same) was associated with reduced anxiety and an increase in mental wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: While healthy eating habits worsened in the 12 months since the onset of the pandemic, anxiety and mental wellbeing improved. However, anxiety may have increased for parents of secondary school aged children.

A multiscale integrated analysis of the COVID-19 restrictions: The energy metabolism of UK and the related socio-economic changes.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the related lockdown restrictions have imposed a wide range of impacts that need to be analysed based on the specific characteristics of countries. By comparing socio-economic and energy data for the four quarters of 2020 to the same period of 2019, the MuSIASEM approach is used, for the first time, to investigate the energy metabolism of UK during a period of economic downturn. Results show that the commercial and the public administration activities have been able to achieve energy efficiency increases, and the residential sector has accounted for energy-related economies of scale. The industrial and the other activity sectors, on the contrary, have raised the energy intensity of production. Comparted to time series data, scenarios, and modelling exercises, the MuSIASEM approach integrates a wide range of intensive and extensive variables across different scales of analysis and investigate how specific socio-economic and energy structures have reacted to the COVID-19 crisis. The methodology can be easily replicated for other case studies and results can support the design of recovery and sustainable transition strategies.

Italians Do It Less. COVID-19 Lockdown Impact on Sexual Activity: Evidence From a Large Representative Sample of Italian Adults.

BACKGROUND: To explore how sexual activity was impacted by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown measures in the general adult population. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 6,003 Italian adults aged 18-74 years who were representative of the Italian general population. Study subjects were recruited at the time of the nationwide stay-at-home order (from April 27 to May 3, 2020). We identified characteristics associated with decreased frequency of sex during lockdown, differentiating between cohabiting and non-cohabiting subjects. RESULTS: Over one-third (35.3%) of Italians reported to have changed their sexual activity during lockdown (8.4% increased and 26.9% decreased). When focusing on cohabitants (N = 3,949, 65.8%), decreased sexual activity (20.7%) was more frequently reported by men (22.3%; compared to women, multivariable odds ratio 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.44), younger subjects (P for trend <0.001), more educated subjects (P for trend = 0.004), subjects living in smaller houses (P for trend = 0.003), and those reporting longer time spent outdoors before the lockdown (P for trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 lockdown drastically altered people's day-to-day life and is likely to have impacted lifestyle habits and behavioral risk factors, including sexual attitudes and practice. This is the first national population-level study exploring changes in sexual life in this COVID-19 era. As we report sexual practice to have been affected by lockdown restrictions, we suggest that the mental health, social, and other determinants of these changes are to be explored beyond imposed social distancing.

Impact of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trade between Canada and the United States.

We examine how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected trade between Canada and the United States, using a novel dataset on monthly bilateral trade flows between Canadian provinces and US states merged with COVID-19 health data. Our results show that a one-standard-deviation increase in COVID-19 severity (case levels, hospitalizations, deaths) in a Canadian province leads to a 3.1 percent to 4.9 percent fall in exports and a 6.7 percent to 9.1 percent fall in imports. Decomposing our analysis by industry, we determine that trade in the manufacturing industry was most negatively affected by the pandemic, and the agriculture industry had the least disruption to trade flows. Our descriptive evidence suggests that lockdowns may also have reduced Canadian exports and imports. However, although our regression coefficients are consistent with that finding, they are not statistically significant, perhaps because of the lack of variation as a result of similar timing in the imposition of restrictions across provinces.

Cet article examine l'incidence de la maladie à coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) sur le commerce entre le Canada et les États-Unis. La recherche utilise un nouvel ensemble de données sur les échanges commerciaux bilatéraux mensuels entre les provinces canadiennes et les États américains croisées avec les données médicales reliées à la COVID-19. Nos résultats démontrent qu'un accroissement d'un seul écart-type de la sévérité de la COVID 19 (nombre de cas, hospitalisations, décès) dans une province canadienne a causé une chute de 3,1 à 4,9 pour cent des exportations et une chute de 6,7 à 9,1 pour cent des importations. En décomposant notre analyse par industrie, nous constatons que le commerce dans l'industrie manufacturière a été le plus touché négativement par la pandémie, et que le secteur agricole a été le moins perturbé quant aux échanges commerciaux. Nos données descriptives montrent que les périodes de confinement peuvent avoir réduit, à leur tour, les importations et exportations canadiennes. Cependant, même si nos coefficients de régression concordent avec ces résultats, ils ne sont pas pour autant significatifs statistiquement, peut-être en raison du manque de variation découlant des restrictions imposées dans toutes les provinces.

Change in body weight of older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal results from the Berlin Aging Study II.

OBJECTIVES: Change in body weight during the COVID-19 pandemic as an unintended side effect of lockdown measures has been predominantly reported for younger and middle-aged adults. However, information on older adults for which weight loss is known to result in adverse outcomes, is scarce. In this study we describe the body weight change in older adults before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown measures and explore putative associated factors with a focus on the period that includes the first six months of the COVID-19 containment measures. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with three follow-up examinations over the course of 10 years. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In this study, we analyzed the longitudinal weight change of 472 participants of the Berlin Aging Study II (mean age of 67.5 years at baseline). MEASUREMENTS: Body weight was assessed at four time points. Additionally, differences between subgroups characterized by socio-economic, cognitive, and psychosocial variables as well as morbidity burden, biological age markers (epigenetic clocks, telomere length), and frailty were compared. RESULTS: On average, women and men lost 0.87% (n = 227) and 0.5% (n = 245) of their body weight per year in the study period covering the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Weight loss among men was particularly pronounced among groups characterized by change in physical activity due to COVID-19 lockdown, low positive affect, premature epigenetic age (7-CpG clock), diagnosed metabolic syndrome, and a more masculine gender score (all variables: p < 0.05, n = 245). CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, older participants lost weight with a 2.5-times (women) and 2-times (men) higher rate than what is expected in this age.

Oral health, the patients' perspective during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Background and aims: On March 16, 2020, the state of emergency was established with drastic measures of isolation and quarantine. Among the measures taken in the context of the state of emergency was the closure of dental offices throughout the country. The aim of our questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was to identify the psycho-affective implications of the Romanian citizens induced by the COVID-19 pandemic period as well as their opinion related to the self-perceived oral health status during this period. Methods: An original questionnaire was designed consisting of 41 questions, which were distributed to the general population via the Internet. The first part of the questionnaire investigated the respondents' opinion regarding the impact of this COVID-19 pandemic period of isolation on their oral health and the attention paid by the subjects to oral hygiene during restrictions. The second part refers to their addressability to the dental services during this pandemic and the third part interrogates different characteristics, namely the presence of comorbidities, possible anxiety, and stress. Results: A total of 769 participants answered the questionnaire online. Conclusion: According to their responses most of the respondents were not afraid of the possibility of contracting Sars-Cov-2 during dental treatments, but were in certain periods deprived of accessing dental services due to lockdown restrictions. They are aware of their oral health problems and pay more attention to oral hygiene so that they do not get worse during restrictions.

Seasonal and Spatial Variations of the Oxidative Properties of Ambient PM2.5 in the Po Valley, Italy, before and during COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions.

This study describes the chemical and toxicological characteristics of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the Po Valley, one of the largest and most polluted areas in Europe. The investigated samples were collected in the metropolitan area of Milan during the epidemic lockdown and their toxicity was evaluated by the oxidative potential (OP), measured using ascorbic acid (OPAA) and dithiothreitol (OPDTT) acellular assays. The study was also extended to PM2.5 samples collected at different sites in the Po Valley in 2019, to represent the baseline conditions in the area. Univariate correlations were applied to the whole dataset to link the OP responses with the concentrations of the major chemical markers of vehicular and biomass burning emissions. Of the two assays, OPAA was found mainly sensitive towards transition metals released from vehicular traffic, while OPDTT towards the PM carbonaceous components. The impact of the controlling lockdown restrictions on PM2.5 oxidative properties was estimated by comparing the OP values in corresponding time spans in 2020 and 2019. We found that during the full lockdown the OPAA values decreased to 80-86% with respect to the OP data in other urban sites in the area, while the OPDTT values remained nearly constant.

Evaluation of the Impact of the First Wave of COVID-19 and Associated Lockdown Restrictions on Persons with Disabilities in 14 States of India.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with disabilities (PwDs) in India. About 27.4 million cases were reported as of 27 May 2021. The continuing pandemic in the form of subsequent waves is expected to have negative repercussions for the disabled globally, particularly in India, where access to health, rehabilitation, and social care services is very limited. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions on PwDs in India. OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of disruption due to COVID-19 and the associated countrywide lockdown restrictions on PwD in India during the first wave. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach, data were collected from a representative sample of 403 persons with disabilities in 14 states in India during the COVID-19 first wave at two different points in time (Lockdown and post-lockdown phase). Factors associated with the negative impact were examined using the Chi-square test for associations. The paired comparisons between 'lockdown' with the 'post-lockdown' phase are presented using McNemar's test and the marginal homogeneity test to compare the proportions. Additionally, a subsample of the participants in the survey was identified to participate in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to gain in-depth insights on the study question and substantiate the quantitative findings. The framework approach was used to conduct a thematic analysis of the qualitative data. RESULTS: About 60% of the PwDs found it difficult to access emergency medical services during the lockdown, and 4.6% post lockdown (p < 0.001). Likewise, 12% found it difficult to access rehabilitation services during the lockdown, and 5% post lockdown (p = 0.03). About 76% of respondents were apprehensive of the risk of infection during the lockdown, and this increased to 92% post lockdown (p < 0.001). Parents with children were significantly impacted due to lockdown in the areas of Medical (p = 0.007), Rehabilitation (p = 0.001), and Mental health services (p = 0.001). The results from the qualitative study supported these quantitative findings. PWDs felt that the lockdown restrictions had negatively impacted their productivity, social participation, and overall engagement in everyday activities. Access to medicines and rehabilitation services was felt to be extremely difficult and detrimental to the therapeutic benefits that were gained by them during the pre-pandemic time. None of the pandemic mitigation plans and services was specific or inclusive of PWDs. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 and the associated lockdown restrictions have negatively impacted persons with disabilities during the first wave in India. It is critical to mainstream disability within the agenda for health and development with pragmatic, context-specific strategies and programs in the country.

Influence of Using Food Delivery Applications on Adult Saudi Female Dietary Habits and Preferences during COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions: Attitude Survey.

Food delivery applications (FDAs) shined during COVID-19 global lockdown restrictions. Consequently, lifestyle changes imposed a greater use of these applications over this period. These changes may strongly influence the nutritional health of individuals, particularly adult Saudi females. A cross-sectional study was performed to examine the influence of using FDAs during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on attitude behaviours, including dietary habits and preferences among Saudi adult females. Participants voluntarily submitted their answers to a questionnaire administered via the Google Survey platform. Results illustrated that most Saudi female users of FDAs were aged between 18-24 years with 64.9%, 91.5% being single and 37% ordering food online within one to two days a month. There was a significant association between the influence of using FDAs during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and age, education, and average days of ordering food online (p ˂ 0.05). Another important factor is that higher education was associated with more frequent use of the FDAs, there were direct relationships between education level and using FDAs, 58% of the participants were educated as undergraduate or postgraduate. Although lifestyle changes increased the use of FDAs during COVID-19 global lockdown restrictions, these changes may negatively affect individuals' dietary habits and preferences, particularly adult Saudi females. These findings can aid in promoting healthy diet management globally and in Saudi Arabia unless the governments lead to significant beneficial changes toward improving food delivery applications.

The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions on Exercise Behavior Among People With Multiple Sclerosis Enrolled in an Exercise Trial: Qualitative Interview Study.

BACKGROUND: During spring and summer 2020, US states implemented COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, resulting in the closure of rehabilitation facilities and, with them, some of the clinical trials that were taking place. One such trial was the Supervised Versus Telerehabilitation Exercise Program for Multiple Sclerosis ("STEP for MS") comparative effectiveness multiple sclerosis (MS) exercise trial. Although 1 study arm was implemented via telerehabilitation, the comparative arm took place in rehabilitation facilities nationwide and was subsequently closed during this time frame. The experience of the STEP for MS participants provides insights into the impact of lockdown restrictions on exercise behavior by mode of exercise delivery (telerehabilitation vs conventional facility based). OBJECTIVE: This study sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on exercise behavior among people with MS enrolled in an exercise trial at the time of the restrictions. METHODS: Semistructured phone and video interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 8 participants representing both arms of the exercise trial. We applied reflexive thematic analysis to identify, analyze, and interpret common themes in the data. RESULTS: We identified 7 main themes and 2 different narratives describing the exercise experiences during lockdown restrictions. Although the telerehabilitation participants continued exercising without interruption, facility-based participants experienced a range of barriers that impeded their ability to exercise. In particular, the loss of perceived social support gained from exercising in a facility with exercise coaches and other people with MS eroded both the accountability and motivation to exercise. Aerobic exercises via walking were the most impacted, with participants pointing to the need for at-home treadmills. CONCLUSIONS: The unprecedented disruption of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in spring and summer 2020 impacted the ability of facility-based STEP for MS exercise trial participants to exercise in adherence to the intervention protocol. By contrast, the participants in the telerehabilitation-delivered exercise arm continued exercising without interruption and reported positive impacts of the intervention during this time. Telerehabilitation exercise programs may hold promise for overcoming barriers to exercise for people with MS during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, and potentially other lockdown scenarios, if the participation in telerehabilitation has already been established.

The impact of changes in COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on alcohol consumption and drinking occasion characteristics in Scotland and England in 2020: an interrupted time-series analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Early evidence suggests that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions affect alcohol consumption. However, existing studies lack data on how drinking practices changed as restrictions disrupted people's work, family life and socializing routines. We examined changes in consumption and drinking occasion characteristics during three periods of changing restrictions in Scotland/England. DESIGN: Interrupted time-series analysis of repeat cross-sectional market research data (assessing step-level changes). SETTING: Scotland/England, January 2009-December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Scotland: 41 507 adult drinkers; England: 253 148 adult drinkers. MEASUREMENTS: Three intervention points: March 2020 lockdown, July 2020 easing of restrictions and October 2020 re-introduction of some restrictions. PRIMARY OUTCOME: mean units consumed per week (total/off-trade/on-trade; 1 unit = 8 g ethanol). SECONDARY OUTCOMES: drinking > 14 units per week, heavy drinking, drinking days per week, solitary drinking, drinking with family/partners, drinking with friends/colleagues, own-home drinking, drinking in someone else's home and drinking start times. FINDINGS: In Scotland, March 2020's lockdown was associated with a 2.32 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.61, 4.02] increase in off-trade (i.e. shop-bought) units per week, a -2.84 (95% CI = -3.63, -2.06) decrease in on-trade (i.e. licensed venues) units per week, but no statistically significant change in total units per week. July 2020's easing of restrictions was associated with a 1.33 (95% CI = 0.05, 2.62) increase in on-trade units per week, but no statistically significant total/off-trade consumption changes. October 2020's re-introduction of some restrictions was not associated with statistically significant consumption changes. Results for England were broadly similar. Lockdown restrictions were also associated with later drinking start times, fewer occasions in someone else's home and with friends/colleagues, more own-home drinking and (in Scotland only) more solitary drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Reductions in on-trade alcohol consumption following COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in Scotland/England in 2020 were mainly offset by increased own-home drinking. This largely persisted in periods of greater/lesser restrictions. The shift towards off-trade drinking involved significant changes in the characteristics of drinking occasions.

Repeated Antigen-Based Rapid Diagnostic Testing for Estimating the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Prevalence from the Perspective of the Workers' Vulnerability before and during the Lockdown.

BACKGROUND: No previous study has investigated the SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and the changes in the proportion of positive results due to lockdown measures from the angle of workers' vulnerability to coronavirus in Greece. Two community-based programs were implemented to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and investigate if the prevalence changes were significant across various occupations before and one month after lockdown. METHODS: Following consent, sociodemographic, clinical, and job-related information were recorded. The VivaDiag™ SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test was used. Positive results confirmed by a real-time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction for SARS-COV-2. RESULTS: Positive participants were more likely to work in the catering/food sector than negative participants before the lockdown. Lockdown restrictions halved the new cases. No significant differences in the likelihood of being SARS-CoV-2 positive for different job categories were detected during lockdown. The presence of respiratory symptoms was an independent predictor for rapid antigen test positivity; however, one-third of newly diagnosed patients were asymptomatic at both time points. CONCLUSIONS: The catering/food sector was the most vulnerable to COVID-19 at the pre-lockdown evaluation. We highlight the crucial role of community-based screening with rapid antigen testing to evaluate the potential modes of community transmission and the impact of infection control strategies.

COVID-19 disaster management plans for two laboratory animal facilities in South Africa.

Policies and guidelines are available for acute disasters such as earthquakes, fire and floods, however, little is available on how laboratory animal facilities should mitigate subacute disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic that imposed major restrictions on the free movement of people. As such, laboratory animal facilities had to find plausible mitigating measures to safeguard the welfare of animals in their care, to prevent animal suffering if staff could not reach the animals, albeit with limited time. The simplest approach was to stop active experiments and halt animal breeding, or to euthanize all animals. Challenges with such methods included the ethical debate regarding euthanasia of animals at the start of a pandemic and the need to perform a harm-benefit analysis while drafting the disaster plans, termination of studies at advanced stages with information loss or killing of genetically modified strains that would be difficult to replace.Two research animal facilities in South Africa addressed these challenges by implementing several changes such as allowing only essential studies to continue, maintaining small breeding colonies for essential strains, and providing staff with private transport for travelling to and from work to avoid public transport and risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Engineering changes included redesigning working areas to cater for social distancing.The mitigating measures put in place by the two laboratory animal facilities were successful in ensuring the continued welfare of animals during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. These measures can be adopted in future pandemics that lead to restricted movement of staff.Plans de gestion en cas de catastrophes telles que le COVID-19 pour deux installations d'animaux de laboratoire en Afrique du Sud.

Variability in Forest Visit Numbers in Different Regions and Population Segments before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In view of the prevailing preferences for health and recreation revealed by previous studies as the main expected benefits of forest visits, the research presented herein focuses on whether such expectations would translate into a significant increase in the number of forest visits (NFV) following pandemic outbreaks. In this context, a Slovak nationwide survey on forests was conducted, with the main objective of casting light on possible changes in NFV as a coping mechanism or behavioral response to the discomfort and severe restrictions stemming from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the related measures. The survey was administered on a statistically representative sample after the pandemic's first wave ebbed and restrictions were eased in the summer months of 2020. Collected data were assessed using ANOVA, the results of which supported the importance of forests as places providing opportunities for restoration of mental and physical resources. Forest accessibility as represented by forest coverage and settlement size emerged as a paramount factor affecting NFV rates both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic and its accompanying measures affected the relationships between NFV and average per capita income, type of employment, and most importantly age, highlighting possible vulnerabilities and disadvantages in certain population segments.