The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on gambling: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Since the COVID-19 outbreak, people's habits changed radically. In fact, to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2, governments implemented restrictive measures that influenced the lives of individuals. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on gambling by examining three different outcomes: frequency, expenditure, and transition among possible types of gambling. METHODS: All studies assessing the impact of restrictive measures implemented to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 on gambling were included. For the search, two different databases were used: Pubmed and CINAHL. Moreover, two different populations were analyzed: the general population, and subjects who used to gamble before SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. All qualitative studies, reports not based on peer-review, and papers in which the statistical unit was not the subject but the gambling or wagering operators were excluded. RESULTS: From the search, 408 reports were identified. Of these, 28 were included in the systematic review. From the studies, a strong reduction in the frequency and expenditure of land-based gambling emerged, while the results about online gambling were different among the studies. However, a reduction was observed assessing sports betting, and an increase emerged considering online casino and skill games. Finally, a significant migration from land-based gambling to online platforms was identified. The main reasons for these findings were the physical closures of land-based gambling venues and the more time spent at home, the suspension or cancelation of sporting events on which subjects used to bet, and more mental health issues during this challenging period. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected subjects' habits, including gambling, by reducing land-based gambling and sports betting, and increasing gambling on online platforms. This shift poses significant challenges, requiring a comprehensive approach to monitor and mitigate the negative consequences of this increase in online gambling caused by the pandemic.

Epidemiological characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus infection in pediatric patients before, during the COVID-19 pandemic and after easing of COVID-19 restrictive measures in China.

We aimed to assess the epidemiological characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in Chinese children at different phases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, that is, before, during the pandemic and after easing of restrictive measures. We included 123 623 patients aged 0-18 years with respiratory infection symptoms who were suspected with RSV infection from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2023 in Hangzhou Children's Hospital. Clinical information and RSV test result were extracted from the laboratory information system. We calculated the positive rate of RSV detection by age groups, gender, seasons, types of patients and phases of COVID-19 pandemic. Nonlinear associations between age and risk of RSV infection in three phases of pandemic were assessed by restricted cubic spline regression models. Among 123 623 patients, 3875 (3.13%) were tested as positive. The highest positive rate was observed in children aged 0-28 days (i.e., 12.28%). RSV infection was most prevalent in winter (6.04%), and followed by autumn (2.52%). Although there is no statistical significance regarding the positive rate at three phases of the pandemic, we observed that the rate was lowest during the pandemic and increased after easing the measures in certain age groups (p < 0.05), which was consisted with results from the nonlinear regression analyses. In addition, regression analyses suggested that the age range of children susceptible to RSV got wider, that is, 0-3.5 years, after easing all restrictive measures compared with that before (i.e., 0-3 years) and during the pandemic (i.e., 0-1 year). Based on our findings, we called for attention from health professionals and caregivers on the new epidemiological characteristics of RSV infection in the post-pandemic era after easing the restrictive measures.

Restrictive measures and substance use reporting: New evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies have been conducted on the impact of lockdown and containment measures on various aspects of individual and social behaviour, including substance use. The increasing body of literature investigating this phenomenon emphasizes the need for additional studies at the local level. We investigate changes in reported illicit drug consumption following changes in public measures limiting individual mobility in the province of Bergamo, one of the regions that faced the most severe consequences in terms of number of cases and death toll in the early stages of the pandemic. METHODS: The empirical analysis is based on a unique dataset covering all people recorded by police forces as drug users between January 2019 and December 2021 in the province of Bergamo. Data relate to reports for illicit drug consumption and not criminal activities. RESULTS: Estimates show that, during periods when individual mobility was severely limited, the probability of reported cannabis consumption decreased by 8-9%, while that of reported cocaine use increased by 6-12%. No significant changes emerge in the reported consumption of heroin or polysubstance. Furthermore, while reported cannabis use returned to pre-pandemic levels once the restrictive measures were eased, the increased likelihood of reported cocaine use appears to have been more long-lasting. These findings are robust to alternative estimation strategies and different model specifications. Our study also reveals significant gender, age and housing status disparities in reported drug use. CONCLUSION: We provide a novel and distinctive perspective on the topic by using previously unexploited administrative data sources. We show that the relationship between restrictions and reported drug use varies by type of substance. Our methodology and findings can support the design of targeted policies for better resource allocation and improved public health outcomes.

Moral lessons from residents, close relatives and volunteers about the COVID-19 restrictions in Dutch and Flemish nursing homes.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, national governments took restrictive measures, such as a visitors ban, prohibition of group activities and quarantine, to protect nursing home residents against infections. As 'safety' prevailed, residents and close relatives had no choice but to accept the restrictions. Their perspectives are relevant because the policies had a major impact on them, but they were excluded from the policy decisions. In this study we looked into the moral attitudes of residents, close relatives and volunteers regarding the restrictions in retrospect, and what moral lessons they considered important. METHODS: We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with residents and close relatives and one focus group meeting with volunteers working in nursing homes. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed inductively. Subsequently, three Socratic dialogue meetings with residents, close relatives and volunteers were organized in which first analysis outcomes were discussed and dialogues were fostered into moral lessons for future pandemics. Outcomes were combined with moral theory following an empirical bioethics design. RESULTS: Critical perspectives regarding the COVID-19 restrictions grew in time. Various moral values were compromised and steered moral lessons for our future. The participants recognized three moral lessons as most important. First, constructing tailored (well-balanced) solutions in practice is desirable. Second, proper recognition is needed for the caring role that close relatives fulfill in practice. Third, a responsive power distribution should be in place that includes all stakeholder perspectives who are affected by the restrictions. DISCUSSION: Comparing the results with moral theory strengthens the plea for inclusion of all stakeholder groups in decision-making processes. To further concretize the moral lessons, tailored solutions can be realized with the use of moral case deliberations. Proper recognition includes actions addressing moral repair and including counter-stories in the debate. Responsive power distribution starts with providing clear and trustworthy information and including all perspectives.

Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on psychological well-being of firefighters.

Background: Covid-19 pandemic represented a unique stressful event that affected the physical health and the psychological well-being (PWB) of individuals and communities. Monitoring PWB is essential to clarify the burden on mental health effects but also to define targeted psychological-supporting measures. This cross-sectional study evaluated the PWB of Italian firefighters during the pandemic. Methods: Firefighters recruited during the pandemic period filled out a self-administered questionnaire the Psychological General Well-Being Index during the health surveillance medical examination. This tool is usually used to assess the global PWB and explores six subdomains: anxiety, depressed mood, positive well-being, self-control, general health, and vitality. The influencing role of age, gender, working activities, Covid-19 and pandemic restrictive measures was also explored. Results: A total of 742 firefighters completed the survey. The aggregate median PWB global score was in the "no distress" range (94.3±10.3) resulting higher than that observed in studies conducted using the same tool in the Italian general population during the same pandemic period. Similar findings were observed in the specific subdomains thus suggesting that investigated population was in good PWB condition. Interestingly, significantly better outcomes were detected in the younger firefighters. Conclusion: Our data showed a satisfactory PWB situation in firefighters that could be related to different professional factors such as work organization, mental and physical training. In particular, our results would suggest the hypothesis that in firefighters, the maintaining of a minimum/moderate level of physical activity (consisting of even just going to work) might had a profoundly positive impact on psychological health and well-being.

Organisational impact on the use of restrictive measures: The perspective of Swedish front-line managers.

BACKGROUND: Restrictive measures (RM) are prevalent in services for people with intellectual disabilities. This study investigates managerial awareness of RM and the nature of organisational supports required to reduce their use. METHOD: A survey asked front-line managers and staff what (RM) were used, their purpose, impact and importance (10-item Likert scales) and what organisational changes were required (free text). Responses were analysed using descriptive methods and content analysis. RESULTS: Managers reported a lower use of RM, compared with staff. According to managers, RM were mainly used to keep service users from harm, their use having a significant impact. Opportunities to change practices were limited by a lack of resources and organisational support. CONCLUSION: Front-line managers seem to lack the capacity to address the use of RM due to organisational drift; limited manager time and opportunity to allocate resources; inadequate environments; and lack of skilled staff, knowledge and relevant professional input.

Impact of the Care and Coercion Act on recorded involuntary care in intellectual disability care: a time-series analysis.

BACKGROUND: On 1 January 2020, the Care and Coercion Act came into effect in the Netherlands, subjecting involuntary care to more strict regulations and monitoring. This study tested changes in recordings of involuntary care during the transitional year of 2020 and after full implementation in 2021, which coincided with the first severe test of the new regulations, when COVID-19 lockdown measures were taken on 16 March 2020. METHODS: Data consisted of weekly counts of involuntary care from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021, taken from the care data of more than 3000 clients with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour of 's Heeren Loo, a large long-term care organisation in the Netherlands. An interrupted time series design was used to compare the period under the former law with the period under the new law and to the period during and after implementation, taking into account the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown measures on recordings of involuntary care. RESULTS: Under the new act in Week 1 of 2020, a statistically significant drop occurred in involuntary care counts, after which these counts gradually decreased. The start of 2021, the year in which the act was fully implemented, showed an initial increase in counts of involuntary care, followed by a decrease (all Ps < .001). The introduction of the COVID-19 lockdown measures did not statistically affect the weekly counts of involuntary care. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in registered involuntary care after the Care and Coercion Act came into effect is a first indication of the efficacy of this new law that requires careful multidisciplinary consultations around the right of clients to respect their self-determination. Follow-up research should examine whether the impact of the new law aligns with clients' experiences of self-determination.

COVID-19 Lockdown Pandemic Period Effects in Highly Impacted Aquatic Ecosystems.

Human activities severely affect aquatic ecosystems: the lockdown restrictions due to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) have proved that reducing anthropogenic activities can positively influence the environment and mitigate atmospheric pollution. In addition, studies on aquatic ecosystems have highlighted the decrease in suspended matter and pollutant concentrations associated with reduced marine transport and industrial activities. We evaluated the effects of the reduction of anthropogenic activities in highly impacted water ecosystems. Three of the sampling sites were on the Tiber River's lower stretch close to the urban area of Rome (Italy), and the other two were transitional waters located in the southern Latium region coastal area. These sampling sites have been studied by our research group for at least 20 years. The present study involved analysis of chemical and physicochemical parameters, biological communities, and land use. Microbiological fecal indicators and Salmonella spp. were also analyzed. There were two sampling campaigns, the first one in May 2020 (ID II) at the end of lockdown measures, and the second one a year later, in June 2021 (ID III). The data were compared with our old data, collected from 2002 to 2015 (ID I), to evaluate the potential effects of the restrictive measures. Biotic communities were dominated by pollution-tolerant taxa, indicating eutrophication and organic pollution. Furthermore, the high concentrations of microbiological indicators was mainly due to sewage from the urban area. The results of the research indicated no significant changes from past years (ID I) to 2020 (ID II) and 2021 (ID III). In conclusion, the restrictions adopted in Italy during the pandemic period were not sufficient to mitigate the heavy pressure of urbanization and agriculture that have long affected the studied aquatic ecosystems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:966-977. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Urban air quality changes resulting from the lockdown period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This work aims to quantify potential pollution level changes in an urban environment (Madrid city, Spain) located in South Europe due to the lockdown measures for preventing the SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Polluting 11 species commonly monitored in urban zones were attended. Except for O3, a prompt target pollutant levels abatement was reached, intensely when implanted stricter measures and moderately along those measures' relaxing period. In the case of TH and CH4, it is evidenced a progressive diminution over the lockdown period. While the highest decreasing average changes relapsed on NOx (NO2: - 40.0% and NO: - 33.3%) and VOCs (C7H8: - 36.3% and C6H6: - 32.8%), followed by SO2 (- 27.0%), PM10 (- 19.7%), CO (- 16.6%), CH4 (- 14.7%), TH (- 11.6%) and PM2.5 (- 10.1%), the O3 level slightly raised 0.4%. These changes were consistently dependent on the measurement station location, emphasizing urban background zones for SO2, CO, C6H6, C7H8, TH and CH4, suburban zones for PM2.5 and O3, urban traffic sites for NO and PM10, and keeping variations reasonably similar at all the stations in the case of NO2. Those pollution changes were not translated in variations on geospatial pattern, except for NO, O3 and SO2. Although the researched urban atmosphere improvement was not attributable to meteorological conditions' variations, it was in line with the decline in traffic intensity. The evidenced outcomes might offer valuable clues to air quality managers in urban environments regarding decision-making in favor of applying punctual severe measures for quickly and considerably relieving polluting high load occurred in urban environments. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13762-022-04464-6.

The impact of COVID-19 perceived threat and restrictive measures on mental health in Italy, Spain, New York, and Hong Kong: An international multisite study.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy, Spain, New York, and Hong Kong stood out for the ir high rates of infections. Given this scenario, a web-based international multisite and cross-sectional study was conducted between April and May 2020 to investigate the psychological impact of the pandemic and the restrictions imposed by the governments in these countries. We expected similar patterns in European countries, and no significant differences in terms of psychological impairment between Hong Kong (with a previous experience related to SARS, but subjected to restrictions for a longer time) and the other areas. Participants were 1955 adults from the above-mentioned areas. We assessed anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), COVID-19-related threats, and perceived burden of restrictive measures. Two-explorative factor analyses (EFAs) with Promax rotation identified COVID-19-related factors: personal physical threat, personal economic threat, global economic threat, and restriction-related burden. ANOVAs studied locations' differences and two-separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses by location determined whether and how COVID-19-related variables were associated with anxiety and depression, adjusting for age and sex. Italy and Hong Kong showed higher anxiety than Spain (p < 0.05); Hong Kong scored higher on depression than Italy and Spain (p < 0.001), which highlighted the lowest mean-score. New York participants showed the poorest mental health conditions. Anxiety was predicted by restriction-related burden (ßNY = 0.242; ßHK = 0.116) and personal economic threat (ßNY = 0.246; ßHK = 0.145) in New York (Adj.R 2 = 0.125) and Hong Kong (Adj.R 2 = 0.079); by global economic threat (ß = 0.199) and restriction-related burden (ß = 0.124) in Italy (Adj.R 2 = 0.108); and by personal physical threat (ß = 0.144) in Spain (Adj.R 2 = 0.049). Depression was predicted by restriction-related burden (ßNY = 0.313; ßHK = 0.120) and personal economic threat (ßNY = 0.229; ßHK = 0.204) in New York (Adj.R 2 = 0.161) and Hong Kong (Adj.R 2 = 0.089); by global economic threat (ß = 0.209) in Italy (Adj.R 2 = 0.149); and no predictors emerged in Spain. Findings could contribute to understanding the specific impact of the pandemic on people's psychological health in each area, along with the factors that impacted mental health. This information may be useful to implementing prevention interventions in case of restrictions.

Youth Psychiatric Hospitalization in Israel during COVID-19: A Multi-Center Study.

During the COVID-19 pandemic there have been numerous reports of increases in psychiatric morbidity and a deterioration of status among existing patients. There is little information about how this increase has affected youth and rates of adolescent psychiatric hospitalization. Our study was aimed at examining trends in youth psychiatric hospitalization during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: We used medical records to compare trends in hospitalization rates from 2019 to 2020, among psychiatric youth wards from five different centers in Israel. Results: The number of patients that were hospitalized in youth psychiatric wards decreased significantly from 2019 (Mean ± SD=52.2 ± 28.6 per month) to 2020 (M ± SD = 40.8 ± 22.0; unstandardized B = −11.4, 95% CI = −14.4 to −8.3, p < 0.0001). There was a significant decrease in the number of patients that were hospitalized due to internalizing disorders from 2019 (M ± SD = 22.3 ± 9.3 per month) to 2020 (M ± SD = 16.8 ± 7.7; B = −5.5, 95% CI = −8.0 to −3.0, p = 0.0002) and a marginally significant increase in the number of restraints per month (2019: M ± SD = 2.8 ± 6.8, 2020: M ± SD = 9.0 ± 14.5; Z = −1.96, Rosenthal's r = 0.36, p = 0.07). Conclusions: There was a significant decline in psychiatric hospitalizations during the pandemic, specifically among patients suffering from internalizing disorders. The reasons for this decline, and the future impact these changes had on hospitalizations during the pandemic demand further research. Study limitations: This is a retrospective multicenter study from five medical centers in Israel, therefore generalizability of our findings is limited.

The Prevalence of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Among Children in Beijing Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is an important pathogen of community acquired pneumonia. With the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the prevalence of some infectious respiratory diseases has varied. Epidemiological features of M. pneumoniae in children from Beijing (China) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were investigated. Methods: Between June 2016 and May 2021, a total of 569,887 children with respiratory infections from Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Institute of Pediatrics (Beijing, China) were included in this study. M. pneumoniae specific-IgM antibody in serum specimens of these patients was tested by a rapid immunochromatographic assay kit. The relevant clinical data of M. pneumoniae-positive cases were also collected, and analyzed by RStudio software. Results: The results showed that 13.08% of collected samples were positive for M. pneumoniae specific-IgM antibody. The highest annual positive rate was 17.59% in 2019, followed by 12.48% in 2018, 12.31% in 2017, and 11.73% in 2016, while the rate dropped to 8.9% in 2020 and 4.95% in 2021, with significant difference. Among the six years, the positive rates in summer and winter seasons were significantly higher than those in spring and autumn seasons (p < 0.001). The positive rate was the highest in school-age children (22.20%), and lowest in the infant group (8.76%, p < 0.001). The positive rate in boys (11.69%) was lower than that in girls (14.80%, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in different seasons, age groups, or genders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that an M. pneumoniae outbreak started from the summer of 2019 in Beijing. After the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the end of 2019, the M. pneumoniae positive rates dropped dramatically. This may be due to the restrictive measures of the COVID-19 pandemic, which effectively controlled the transmission of M. pneumoniae. The relationships between M. pneumoniae positive rates and season, age, and gender were not statistically significant before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 seasonality in temperate countries.

INTRODUCTION: While the beneficial effect of vaccination, restrictive measures, and social distancing in reducing mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 is intuitive and taken for granted, seasonality (predictable fluctuation or pattern that recurs or repeats over a one-year period) is still poorly understood and insufficiently taken into consideration. We aimed to examine SARS-CoV-2 seasonality in countries with temperate climate. METHODS: We identified countries with temperate climate and extracted average country temperature data from the National Center for Environmental information and from the Climate Change Knowledge Portal. We obtained mortality and vaccination rates from an open access database. We used the stringency index derived from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker to quantify restriction policies. We used Spearman's and rank-correlation non-parametric test coefficients to investigate the association between COVID-19 mortality and temperature values. We employed multivariate regression models to analyze how containment measures, vaccinations, and monthly temperatures affected COVID-19 mortality rates. RESULTS: The time series for daily deaths per million inhabitants and average monthly temperatures of European countries and US states with a temperate climate had a negative correlation (p < 0.0001 for all countries, 0.40 < R < 0.86). When running multivariate regression models with country fixed effects, we noted that mortality rates were significantly lower when temperature were higher. Interestingly, when adding an interaction term between monthly temperatures and vaccination rates, we found that as monthly temperatures dropped, the effect of the vaccination campaign on mortality was larger than at higher temperatures. DISCUSSION: Deaths attributed to SARS-CoV-2 decreased during the summer period in temperate countries. We found that the effect of vaccination rates on mortality was stronger when temperatures were lower. Stakeholders should consider seasonality in managing SARS-CoV-2 and future pandemics to minimize mortality, limit the pressure on hospitals and intensive care units while maintaining economic and social activities.

Grounded by Mother Nature's Revenge.

Leisure air travel is a popular form of tourism, but its emissions are a major contributor to anthropogenic climate change. Restrictions to leisure air travel have previously received little support; however, the same restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 have been popular. This support is unlikely to persist in a postpandemic world, highlighting the need for alternative ways to improve support for reducing leisure air travel. Anthropomorphism of nature has consistently predicted proenvironmental behavior, which has been mediated by guilt felt for harm to the environment. This research is the first empirical study to explore this relationship in the context of COVID-19, where it examined support for restricting leisure air travel to help mitigate (1) COVID-19 and (2) climate change. In an experimental online study, Australian residents (N = 325, Mage = 54.48, SDage = 14.63, 62% women) were recruited through social media. Anthropomorphism of nature in the context of COVID-19 (AMP-19) was manipulated through exposure to a news article. Participants then completed measures of environmental guilt and support for restricting leisure air travel to mitigate COVID-19 (LAT-19) and to mitigate climate change (LAT-CC). A significant indirect effect was observed in both models, such that AMP-19 predicted environmental guilt which in turn predicted LAT-19 (f2 = .26; BCI [0.66, 3.87]) and LAT-CC (f2 = .45; BCI [0.84, 5.06]). The results imply that anthropomorphism of nature in the context of COVID-19 can improve attitudes toward this proenvironmental behavior, with greater support when this was to mitigate climate change. Implications are discussed.

[The social demographic aspects of vaccination of population of Russia in the context of COVID-19 pandemic].

The pandemic of the new corona-virus infection COVID-19 will be over only when population immunity will be developed. This condition can be achieved by both vaccination and surviving disease in natural way. The WHO recommends the first mode for achieving population immunity, since immune response to vaccine is similar to that one developed while surviving natural infection, but with minimal risks to health and life. The article presents the results of sociological survey organized with purpose of studying the attitude of Russians to vaccination against COVID-19 infection. The results of the survey demonstrated that at present, 22% of respondents are ready to be vaccinated i.e. they responded positively to the corresponding question. The following main factors determining population attitude to vaccination were identified. First, there is statistically significant correlation between vaccination readiness and education level: respondents with higher level of education are more likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Secondly, in general, the population is quite positive about the response of the National health care to the corona-virus pandemic. However, the percentage of population that is positive about vaccination can be higher if it would be possible to apply foreign-made vaccines in Russia. Thirdly, still there is large percentage of population believing that vaccination with medications that have not passed long-term clinical trials can result in health negative consequences. Fourthly, the majority of respondents experienced various manifestations of the pandemic on themselves: either they have been ill themselves, or their relatives and friends were ill or died and almost all of them somehow limited their common mobility.The survey results did not established statistically significant differences in distribution of responses among males and females. We assume that in order to develop positive attitude of population to vaccination, and specifically to Russian-made vaccines, more extensive information campaign is needed to be implemented. Also, significant increase of percentage of vaccinated population can be achieved if clearly defined requirements for availability of COVID-19 vaccination would be adopted on the international level. Actually, this is key condition for restoring international mobility and removing restrictions in national economies.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Spine Surgery in Central Europe: A Questionnaire-Based Study.

OBJECTIVE: The severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) crisis led to many restrictions in daily life and protective health care actions in all hospitals to ensure basic medical supply. This questionnaire-based study among spinal surgeons in central Europe was generated to investigate the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and consecutively the differences in restrictions in spinal surgery units. METHODS: An online survey consisting of 32 questions on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related restrictions on spinal surgery units was created. Surgical fellows and consultants from neurosurgical, orthopedic, and trauma departments were included in our questionnaire-based study with the help of Austrian, German, and Swiss scientific societies. RESULTS: In a total of 406 completed questionnaires, most participants reported increased preventive measurements at daily clinical work (split-team work schedule [44%], cancellation of elective and/or semielective surgeries [91%]), reduced occurrence of emergencies (91%), decreased outpatient work (45%) with increased telemedical care (73%) and a reduced availability of medical equipment (75%) as well as medical staff (30%). Although most physicians considered the political restrictive decisions to be not suitable, most considered the medical measures to be appropriate. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in comparable restrictive measures for spinal surgical departments in central Europe. Elective surgical interventions were reduced, providing additional resources reserved for severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2-positive patients. Although similar restrictions were introduced in most participants' departments, the supply of personal protective equipment and the outpatient care remained insufficient and should be re-evaluated intensively for future global health care crises.

[PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MEASURES TAKEN IN RESPONSE TO THE THREAT OF THE SPREAD OF COVID-19: FOREIGN PRACTICE].

The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus challenges governments to act in ways that are usually reserved for war or natural disasters. The pandemic has caused massive global upheaval that could last for months, or longer. Governments are taking extreme measures to limit economic shocks and human costs. The pressure on the state authorities in this situation increases. In a rapidly evolving crisis, with information coming in from all sides, citizens turn to their governments for information and guidance. They expect to be kept safe and provided with medical care in a timely manner. The purpose of this paper is to review foreign public administration practices in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of Restrictive Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic on Aerosol Pollution of the Atmosphere of the Moscow Megalopolis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to self-isolation and business interruptions around the world. On the basis of measurements of concentrations of an indicator of aerosol emissions from fuel combustion products-black carbon-it is shown that the decrease in economic activity had a significant effect on the pollution of the Moscow atmosphere. The decrease in the intensity of the traffic and the change in the operating mode of industrial and heat-and-power enterprises of the city during the period of restrictive measures in the spring of 2020 were determined by the dynamics of the daily and weekly trend of black carbon levels. The decrease in the fraction of fossil fuel combustion at this time correlates with the increased contribution of biomass combustion in the residential sector and during agricultural fires around the megalopolis. Changes in the intensity and direction of sources of high concentrations of black carbon were observed during the recovery of economic activity in the summer of 2020. The decrease in the concentration of black carbon and fine particles less than 2.5 µm in size (PM2.5) in the urban atmosphere reflects a decline in economic activity and an improvement in air quality and conditions for maintaining the health of the Moscow population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public support for air travel restrictions to address COVID-19 or climate change.

An improved understanding of public support is essential to design effective and feasible climate policies for aviation. Our motivation is the contrast between high support for air travel restrictions responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and low support for restrictions to combat climate change. Can the same factors explain individuals' support for restrictive measures across two different problems? Using a survey, we find that largely the same factors explain support. Support increases with expected effectiveness, perceived threat and imminence of the problem, shorter expected duration of the measure, knowledge, and trust, while support decreases with expected negative consequences for self and the poor. When controlling for all perceptions, there is no significant residual difference in support depending on whether the measures address climate change or COVID-19. The level of support differs because COVID-19 is perceived as a more imminent threat, and because measures are expected to be shorter-lasting and more effective.