Assessing exit screening of SARS-CoV-2 in Japan: an analysis of the airport screening data of passengers from the United Kingdom, 2020-2022.

BACKGROUND: Japan implemented strict border control measures and all incoming passengers were subject to entry screening with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction or antigen testing. From late 2020, exit screening within 72 h of departure to Japan also became mandatory. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the exit screening policy in Japan by analyzing airport screening data from October 2020 to April 2022. METHODS: In addition to assessing entry screening data over time of passengers from the United Kingdom, we examined the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United Kingdom based on the Office of National Statistics infection survey. We constructed a statistical model that described entry screening positivity over time using Office of National Statistics prevalence data as the explanatory variable. Ideally, the time-dependent patterns of entry screening and Office of National Statistics prevalence data should resemble each other; however, we found that, sometimes, they were different and regarded the difference to statistically partly reflect the effectiveness of exit screening. RESULTS: The average proportion positive in one month before mandatory exit screening was implemented among Japanese passengers was 0.67% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45, 0.98), whereas the proportion positive decreased to 0.49% (95% CI: 0.21, 1.15) in the first month of exit screening. Adjusting for time-dependent prevalence at the origin, we concluded that exit screening contributed to reducing passenger positivity by 59.3% (95% CI: 19.6, 81.3). The overall positivity values among passengers during the Delta and Omicron variant periods were 3.46 times and 1.46 times that during the pre-Delta variant period, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We used a simplistic statistical model and empirical data from passengers arriving in Japan from the United Kingdom to support that exit screening helped to reduce the proportion positive by 59%. Although the proportion positive later increased considerably and precluded preventing the introduction of imported cases, submitting a certificate for a negative test result contributed to reducing the positivity among travelers.

Evaluation of the exit screening policy among travelers arriving from Asian and pacific nations.

BACKGROUND: The Japanese government has instituted border control measures against COVID-19, including entry and exit screening of people arriving from overseas. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the exit screening policy in Japan in reducing the risk of importing COVID-19 cases among travelers from Asian and Pacific countries. METHODS: The study period was stratified based on the timing of exit screening: (i) the control period (the pre-exit screening period from 25 October 2020 to 16 January 2021), (ii) the time period with the Alpha variant from 17 January to 10 April 2021, and (iii) the time period with the Delta variant from 2 May to 2 October 2021. Incidence data in the countries of origin were used to adjust for the risk of infection among travelers. The positivity rate of entry screening in Japan was compared among the three different study periods, adjusting for the risk of infection in the country of origin. RESULTS: The adjusted relative risk of positivity was greatly reduced and substantially below the value of 1 during the Alpha variant period compared with the control period. Although the relative risks increased when comparing the Delta variant period against control, the estimate remained below 1, except for among travelers from India and Myanmar. The relative risk reduction was greatest in high-income countries, with estimates of 100% and 96% risk reduction during the Alpha and Delta variant periods, respectively, followed by upper-middle-income countries with estimates of 90% and 76%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Even in the presence of the Alpha and Delta variants, exit screening clearly reduced the risk of infection among travelers arriving from Asian and Pacific nations. As the testing relies on the country of origin, the effectiveness varied greatly by the socioeconomic income status and epidemiological situation of those countries. Test standardization and quality assurance may be required in low- and middle-income countries.

[Impact of border control measures on public health center operations and staffing at international airports during the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant of concern].

Objective　Ota City, located in southeastern Tokyo, including Haneda Tokyo International Airport, has numerous scattered lodging facilities. Shortly after the first case of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant was reported abroad, the Japanese government strengthened border control measures, including quarantine procedures and public health official involvement, for incoming travelers. This study aims to propose effective and efficient border control measures to prevent future outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.Methods　Border control measures implemented between November 2021 and mid-January 2022 were analyzed from three perspectives: chronological changes in government notifications, the situation of in-flight contacts and Omicron cases, and the support system for coronavirus-disease 2019 control department of the Ota City Public Health Center. Additionally, a questionnaire survey was conducted among public health centers with jurisdiction over the top four international airports. This survey aimed to assess the effectiveness of the support system, evaluate cooperation with related organizations, identify common issues faced by public health concerns, and gather suggestions for improvements in future border control measures.Results　The definition and treatment of in-flight contacts of Omicron-positive individuals were initially outlined on November 30, 2021, and underwent frequent revisions until January 14, 2022. Between December 1, 2021, and January 12, 2022, only one Omicron case was identified among the 470 tests conducted on in-flight contacts. However, out of 136 additional domestic specimens collected (including 57 positives for genetic analysis), 40 were confirmed Omicron positive. The results of the questionnaire survey across the four public health centers largely mirrored the issues and suggestions identified by Ota City officials. A significant portion of these issues arose from managing temporary non-Japanese residents staying near international airports.Conclusion　Border control measures should be implemented to delay the domestic spread of the virus. In this reason, it is crucial to avoid placing an undue burden on public health officials responsible for handling domestic infections. Since response policies and target definitions may need to adapt to unknown pathogens, they may be changed frequently, baffling the officials; however, a system for collecting real-time data from frontline sites and making evidence-based decisions is essential. Additionally, deploying liaisons from national and prefectural governments to focal points of emergency response would strengthen the support system by promoting unified instructions and information sharing.

Effectiveness of International Travel Controls for Delaying Local Outbreaks of COVID-19.

During the coronavirus disease pandemic, international travel controls have been widely adopted. To determine the effectiveness of these measures, we analyzed data from 165 countries and found that early implementation of international travel controls led to a mean delay of 5 weeks in the first epidemic peak of cases.

Perspectives of public health professionals on border control practices for COVID-19 management in Europe.

OBJECTIVES: During the COVID-19 pandemic, internal European borders were temporarily re-established to mitigate the outbreak. Much research on pandemic border control measures has focused on quantifying their effectiveness for infectious disease control as well as on their social consequences for cross-border life in the European Union. However, little attention has been paid to the impacts for the practice and organisation of cross-border public health. To address this gap, the present study analysed the experiences and perspectives of public health professionals working in European border regions regarding border control measures in the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative interview-based study. METHODS: In total, 27 semistructured interviews with public health professionals were conducted in the border regions between Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Participants were asked about their perspectives on border control and the spread of COVID-19 in the region. Interviews were performed between December 2020 and April 2021 and carried out in German, English, Dutch and French. RESULTS: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, borders had become largely invisible with extensive cross-border social life and mobility. Participants were sceptical about the role of cross-border mobility as a pandemic driver and consequently the effectiveness of enforcing border control for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in their border regions. At the same time, participants raised concerns about the negative consequences for the social fabric and provision of cross-border public health. CONCLUSIONS: Public health professionals highlighted the uncertain role of border control measures for regional infectious disease control in border regions. Rather than border control, sustainable cross-border communication and collaboration is crucial to ensure effective pandemic management in border regions.

Shifting borders and migrant workers' im/mobility: The case of Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified border control and disrupted international labor migration, but the complex consequences for migrant workers, including deepened marginalization and countervailing opportunities, have yet to receive sufficient scrutiny. Drawing on the case of Taiwan, this article examines how a host country reorganizes the multiple layers of physical and social borders for the purpose of sanitization, leading to an entanglement of mobilities and immobilities in migrant workers' lives. I illustrate how bordering practices have had uneven impacts on Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers across different circumstances of risk management. The findings highlight the geographic scales and temporal changes of shifting borders, which involve the negotiation of social membership for migrant workers in relation to the public health crisis and labor market shortage.

Countries with delayed COVID-19 introduction - characteristics, drivers, gaps, and opportunities.

BACKGROUND: Three months after the first reported cases, COVID-19 had spread to nearly 90% of World Health Organization (WHO) member states and only 24 countries had not reported cases as of 30 March 2020. This analysis aimed to 1) assess characteristics, capability to detect and monitor COVID-19, and disease control measures in these 24 countries, 2) understand potential factors for the reported delayed COVID-19 introduction, and 3) identify gaps and opportunities for outbreak preparedness, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). We collected and analyzed publicly available information on country characteristics, COVID-19 testing, influenza surveillance, border measures, and preparedness activities in these countries. We also assessed the association between the temporal spread of COVID-19 in all countries with reported cases with globalization indicator and geographic location. RESULTS: Temporal spreading of COVID-19 was strongly associated with countries' globalization indicator and geographic location. Most of the 24 countries with delayed COVID-19 introduction were LMICs; 88% were small island or landlocked developing countries. As of 30 March 2020, only 38% of these countries reported in-country COVID-19 testing capability, and 71% reported conducting influenza surveillance during the past year. All had implemented two or more border measures, (e.g., travel restrictions and border closures) and multiple preparedness activities (e.g., national preparedness plans and school closing). CONCLUSIONS: Limited testing capacity suggests that most of the 24 delayed countries may have lacked the capability to detect and identify cases early through sentinel and case-based surveillance. Low global connectedness, geographic isolation, and border measures were common among these countries and may have contributed to the delayed introduction of COVID-19 into these countries. This paper contributes to identifying opportunities for pandemic preparedness, such as increasing disease detection, surveillance, and international collaborations. As the global situation continues to evolve, it is essential for countries to improve and prioritize their capacities to rapidly prevent, detect, and respond, not only for COVID-19, but also for future outbreaks.

Continental transmission of emerging COVID-19 on the 38° north latitude.

BACKGROUND: As COVID-19 has become a pandemic emerging infectious disease it is important to examine whether there was a spatiotemporal clustering phenomenon in the globe during the rapid spread after the first outbreak reported from southern China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The open data on the number of COVID-19 cases reported at daily basis form the globe were used to assess the evolution of outbreaks with international air link on the same latitude and also including Taiwan. The dynamic Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model was used to evaluate continental transmission from December 2019 to March 2020 before the declaration of COVID-19 pandemic with basic reproductive number and effective reproductive number before and after containment measurements. RESULTS: For the initial COVID-19 outbreak in China, the estimated reproductive number was reduced from 2.84 during the overwhelming outbreaks in early January to 0.43 after the strict lockdown policy. It is very surprising to find there were three countries (including South Korea, Iran, and Italy) and the Washington state of the USA on the 38° North Latitude involved with large-scale community-acquired outbreaks since the first imported COVID-19 cases from China. The propagation of continental transmission was augmented from hotspot to hotspot with higher reproductive number immediately before the declaration of pandemic. By contrast, there was not any large community-acquired outbreak in Taiwan. CONCLUSION: The propagated spatiotemporal transmission from China to other hotspots may explain the emerging pandemic that can only be exempted by timely border control and preparedness of containment measurements according to Taiwan experience.

COVID-19: US federal accountability for entry, spread, and inequities-lessons for the future.

The United States (US) has been among those nations most severely affected by the first-and subsequent-phases of the pandemic of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. With only 4% of the worldwide population, the US has seen about 22% of COVID-19 deaths. Despite formidable advantages in resources and expertise, presently the per capita mortality rate is over 585/million, respectively 2.4 and 5 times higher compared to Canada and Germany. As we enter Fall 2020, the US is enduring ongoing outbreaks across large regions of the country. Moreover, within the US, an early and persistent feature of the pandemic has been the disproportionate impact on populations already made vulnerable by racism and dangerous jobs, inadequate wages, and unaffordable housing, and this is true for both the headline public health threat and the additional disastrous economic impacts. In this article we assess the impact of missteps by the Federal Government in three specific areas: the introduction of the virus to the US and the establishment of community transmission; the lack of national COVID-19 workplace standards and enforcement, and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workplaces as represented by complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which we find are correlated with deaths 16 days later (ρ = 0.83); and the total excess deaths in 2020 to date already total more than 230,000, while COVID-19 mortality rates exhibit severe-and rising-inequities in race/ethnicity, including among working age adults.

The Prioritization of Island Nations as Refuges from Extreme Pandemics.

In this conceptual article with illustrative data, we suggest that it is useful to rank island nations as potential refuges for ensuring long-term human survival in the face of catastrophic pandemics (or other relevant existential threats). Prioritization could identify the several island nations that are most suitable for targeting social and political preparations and further investment in resiliency. We outline a prioritization methodology and as an initial demonstration, we then provide example rankings by considering 20 sovereign island states (all with populations greater than 250,000 and no land borders). Results describe each nation in nine resilience-relevant domains covering location, population, resources, and society according to published data. The results indicate that the most suitable island nations for refuge status are Australia, followed closely by New Zealand, and then Iceland, with other nations all well behind (including the relatively high-income ones of Malta and Japan). Nevertheless, some key contextual factors remain relatively unexplored. These include the capacity of the jurisdiction to rapidly close its borders when the emerging threat was first detected elsewhere, and whether or not large subnational islands should be the preferred focus for refuge design (e.g., the Australian state of Tasmania, the island of Hokkaido in Japan, or the South Island of New Zealand). Overall, this work provides conceptual thinking with some initial example analysis. Further research could refine the selection of metrics, how best to weight the relevant domains, and how the populations of prioritized island nations view their nation's selection as a potential refuge for human survival.

Implications for border containment strategies when COVID-19 presents atypically.

OBJECTIVES: For a large part of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Singapore had managed to keep local cases in the single digits daily, with decisive measures. Yet, we saw this critical time point when the imported cases surged through our borders. The gaps which we can and have efficiently closed, using a public health approach and global border containment strategies, are aptly illustrated through this case. This critical point of imported case surge has resulted in a large spike of daily local cases sustained through community transmission, up to 120/day within a very short time frame. We were able to rapidly bring this under control. STUDY DESIGN: This is a case study of a patient who passed through our borders, with COVID-19 masquerading as a resolved sore throat. METHODS: The events were prospectively documented. RESULTS: We present a case of a 21-year-old student returning from Nottingham. He presented with sore throat as the only symptom the few days prior his return, and on arrival at our border (day 7 from initial symptoms), his sore throat had already resolved. The events leading up to his COVID-19 diagnosis highlight the gaps of the international screening processes at the global border entry and the potential consequences of community chain transmission through imported COVID-19 cases. CONCLUSIONS: An important global border control measure to implement quickly will be to expand the symptom list to isolated sore throat and/or a prior history of recent symptoms (resolved). This may capture a larger proportion of imported cases at border entry point for more effective containment. This piece will be equally relevant to the general physicians, emergency care physicians, otolaryngologists and anaesthetists, who are at higher risk of encountering a throat visualization during intubation and routine examination. This information can be useful to countries with low resources or insufficient COVID-19 testing kits.

Monogenean parasites infect ornamental fish imported to Australia.

The ornamental fish trade provides a pathway for the global translocation of aquatic parasites. We examined a total of 1020 fish imported from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, or Sri Lanka to Australia (including freshwater and marine fish species) for monogenean ectoparasites. Fish were received following veterinary certification that they showed no clinical signs of pests and diseases from the exporting country and visual inspection at Australian border control. Australian import conditions require mandatory treatment for goldfish with parasiticides (e.g. trichlorfon, formaldehyde, sodium chloride) for the presence of gill flukes (Dactylogyrus vastator Nybelin, 1924 and Dactylogyrus extensus Mueller and Van Cleave, 1932) prior to export. Over 950 individual parasites were detected in five imported fish species, representing 14 monogenean species. Seven Dactylogyrus spp. including D. vastator and three Gyrodactylus spp. infected goldfish, Carassius auratus Linnaeus, 1758, from Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Dactylogyrus ostraviensis Rehulka, 1988, infected rosy barb, Pethia conchonius Hamilton, 1822, from Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand while two Trianchoratus spp. infected three spot gourami, Trichopodus trichopterus Pallas, 1970 and pearl gourami Trichopodus leerii Bleeker, 1852, from Sri Lanka. Urocleidoides reticulatus Mizelle & Price, 1964, infected guppy, Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859, from Sri Lanka. The discovery of D. vastator in goldfish, as well as 13 other monogenean species, shows that pre-export health requirements, which include chemical treatment of goldfish, and inspection of all ornamental fish species did not prevent infection by monogeneans. Inspection prior to exportation and at border control must account for the highly cryptic nature of monogenean parasites and consider alternatives to current pre-export conditions and visual inspection at border control.

Control or rescue at sea? Aims and limits of border surveillance technologies in the Mediterranean Sea.

The matter of boat migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea, seeking to reach Europe, is interchangeably defined as a 'security issue', requiring stricter border controls, and as a humanitarian issue with corresponding rescue and protection requirements. This paper seeks to understand what role various surveillance technologies, such as radar, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles, can play in this respect (legally and technically), in comparison to the role that they are assigned (that is, political expectations). To unravel what surveillance technologies can and cannot do vis-à-vis the aims of control and rescue, there is a need to comprehend what information can be collected and what information is needed to fulfil these objectives. The paper contends that there is a mismatch between the information sought to 'control' borders, but which cannot be gathered effectively by or processed using surveillance technologies, and the valuable information needed to perform rescue operations, which these surveillance technologies can supply.

Changes in the Transnational Family Structures of Mexican Farm Workers in the Era of Border Militarization.

Historically, undocumented Mexican farm workers migrated circularly, leaving family behind in Mexico on short trips to the United States. Scholars have argued that border militarization has disrupted circular migration as the costs of crossing the border lead to longer stays, increased settlement, and changing transnational family practices. Yet, no study has explored changes in the transnational family structures of Mexico-U.S. migrants that span the era of border militarization. Using data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey, we document a dramatic shift away from transnational family life (as measured by location of residence of dependent children) among undocumented Mexican farm workers and a less dramatic shift among documented Mexican farm workers in the United States between 1993 and 2012. These trends are not explained by changes in the sociodemographic characteristics of farm workers or by changing demographic conditions or rising violence in Mexico. One-half of the trend can be accounted for by lengthened duration of stay and increased connections to the United States among the undocumented, but none of the trend is explained by these measures of settlement among the documented, suggesting that some Mexican farm workers adopt new family migration strategies at first migration. Increases in border control are associated with lower likelihood that children reside in Mexico-a finding that holds up to instrumental variable techniques. Our findings confirm the argument that U.S. border militarization-a policy designed to deter undocumented migration-is instead disrupting transnational family life between Mexico and the United States and, in doing so, is creating a permanent population of undocumented migrants and their children in the United States.

Border control for stowaway alien species should be prioritised based on variations in establishment debt.

Border control is one of the major approaches used by countries to limit the number of organisms introduced as stowaways. However, it is not feasible to inspect all passengers, cargo and vehicles entering a country, and so efforts need to be prioritised. Here we use South Africa as a case study to assess, based on tourism and trade data and climate matching techniques, the number of stowaway species that might be introduced ('colonisation pressure') and the likelihood that once introduced, these organisms will establish ('likelihood of establishment'). These results were used to explore how the number of species that are likely to establish ('establishment debt') varies across donor regions and seasons. A simple theoretical model was then used to compare four strategies for prioritising border control inspections: no prioritisation; based on colonisation pressure; based on likelihood of establishment; and based on both colonisation pressure and likelihood of establishment. Establishment debt was greatest in southern hemisphere spring and autumn when South Africa is climatically similar to northern hemisphere countries with which there are strong, consistent trade and tourism links (i.e. colonisation pressure varied little seasonally, but likelihood of establishment did vary across the seasons). Prioritising inspections based on both colonisation pressure and the likelihood of establishment was clearly the most effective strategy, with this strategy detecting at least 6% more potential invaders than the other strategies. While there are many practical limitations to the implementation of such prioritised inspection strategies, the results highlight the importance of national and regional studies of establishment debt.

Implementation of a pilot checklist for control standardization on fishery goods consignments at the Livorno border control post.

To standardize control activities, it is necessary to introduce checklists to support the control of consignments entering the European Union through border control posts (BCPs). This study aimed to develop a pilot checklist for the control of fishery consignments, preliminarily identified as the predominant group of goods entering the Livorno (Italy) BCP. The design of the pilot checklist was preceded by i) a revision of the current European and national legislation on the general and specific objectives of border control activities on fishery products and ii) a comparative analysis of two checklists (one of the Ministry of Health and one of the former Livorno border inspection post) developed on the basis of the repealed legislation. This comparison aimed to define the pilot checklist structure, verification objectives, and selection of assessment scores to be included in defining consignment compliance and acceptability. Once developed, the clarity and ease of use of the first draft of the pilot checklist were verified through its use in a field test during the control of 64 fishery product consignments. 22 regulatory sources (18 European and 4 national) were selected as reference legislation. The pilot checklist was structured as a dynamic "read-do" document based on the workflow of control activities described in the current legislation. The field test was useful in improving the clarity of the verification objectives within the documentary, identity, and physical control sections and in facilitating the use of the checklist and the collection of evidence during the control activity. This study, which focused on fishery products, can provide a practical approach for the development of checklists for all the other categories of goods under the responsibility of BCPs.

A cross- sectional study of refugees in Norway and Serbia: Levels of mental distress and social-demographic risk factors.

This cross-sectional study has assessed and compared symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among one refugee group during flight (in Serbia) and another refugee group after flight (in Norway). Results indicate high levels of mental distress in both samples of refugees (Serbia: N = 100, Norway: N = 78). Participants in Serbia reported higher levels of symptoms than the participants in Norway. Moreover, the study found that female gender, low education, refused asylum, high age, and concerns about family correlated with mental distress among the participants.

Regulating Movement in Pandemic Times.

As COVID-19 and its variants spread across Australia at differing paces and intensity, the country's response to the risk of infection and contagion revealed an intensification of bordering practices as a form of risk mitigation with disparate impacts on different segments of the Australian community. Australia's international border was closed for both inbound and outbound travel, with few exceptions, while states and territories, Indigenous communities, and local government areas were subject to a patchwork of varying restrictions. By focusing on borders at various levels, our research traces how the logics of medico-legal bordering have filtered down from the international to the intra-national, and indeed, into hyper-local spaces. This is not just apparent in the COVID-19 moment but in previous pandemics of 1918 to 1919 influenza and smallpox, in which practices of quarantine and lockdowns were both unevenly distributed and implemented on multiple scales of social organization. An interdisciplinary approach between history and law reveals that human movement during pandemic times in Australia has been regulated in a manner that sees mobility as a risk to public health capable of mitigation through the strict enforcement of borders as a technology of both confinement and exclusion.

Lessons learned from the Alberta Border Testing Pilot Program.

Background: During the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, countries implemented border control and quarantine measures to reduce transmission. The Alberta Border Testing Pilot Program (ABTPP) allowed international travellers entering Alberta to reduce their quarantine period following two negative COVID-19 tests. We evaluated participant experiences with the ABTPP and implementation. Method: We used a parallel convergent mixed-methods design to explore participant experiences through electronic web-based questionnaires (n = 21,089; n = 13,839) and semi-structured telephone interviews (n = 30). We evaluated implementation through three staff focus groups (n = 11). We analysed questionnaires using descriptive statistics and analysed interviews using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. We deductively coded focus group data using the 2009 Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Results: Questionnaires indicated minimal issues with registration forms (91.7%), symptom reports (95.5%), and COVID-19 testing (95.7%). Most respondents (95.1%) expressed willingness to participate in the ABTPP again. Interviews revealed three themes related to participant experience: program efficiency, clarity of information, and requisite effort. Focus groups identified key implementation facilitators including the single health information system, strong stakeholder partnerships, and good communication across partnerships. Barriers included program complexity, implementation timeline, and evolving external context. Discussion: Participants reported high satisfaction with the ABTPP. Border testing programs should have high efficiency, require low effort, and use messaging that is clear and consistent. The effective implementation of border testing programs may be facilitated by strong leadership, adaptability, automated components, good communication, and simple technology. Learnings from participants and staff may help improve the implementation of border control programs for future pandemics or other emergencies. Conclusions: The ABTTP was a novel border control measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our evaluation of both participant and staff experiences demonstrated high levels of traveller satisfaction and identified areas for improvement that can inform the development of future border control measures.

Patch model for border reopening and control to prevent new outbreaks of COVID-19.

In this paper, we propose a two-patch model with border control to investigate the effect of border control measures and local non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) on the transmission of COVID-19. The basic reproduction number of the model is calculated, and the existence and stability of the boundary equilibria and the existence of the coexistence equilibrium of the model are obtained. Through numerical simulation, when there are no unquarantined virus carriers in the patch-2, it can be concluded that the reopening of the border with strict border control measures to allow people in patch-1 to move into patch-2 will not lead to disease outbreaks. Also, when there are unquarantined virus carriers in patch-2 (or lax border control causes people carrying the virus to flow into patch-2), the border control is more strict, and the slower the growth of number of new infectious in patch-2, but the strength of border control does not affect the final state of the disease, which is still dependent on local NPIs. Finally, when the border reopens during an outbreak of disease in patch-2, then a second outbreak will happen.