COVID-19: Impact of early decision and type of lockdown over the spread of the virus

Objectives: Aim of the present study was to analyze the (1) partial vs complete lock down effects over the spread of COVID-19, (2) time taken for complete lock down decision in relation with the spread of disease. Method: COVID-19 data for the current observational study was taken up to 14 th April since the outbreak of the virus. There were 28 countries which passed through the inclusion criteria and included for analysis. Results: : Average number of reported cases during 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd week of lockdown (complete vs partial) were 6872.9 vs 8990, 13431 vs 20032 and 19005 vs 26859.5 respectively. However, differences were not statistically significant. Days taken to announce complete lockdown was found significantly correlated with number of cases reported during 1 st and 2 nd after lockdown announced. Similarly, number of reported cases when lockdown announced had direct and strong correlation with number of weekly reported cases after lockdown. Conclusion: Number of weekly reported cases among partially lockdown countries was found higher compare to complete lockdown countries. Furthermore, early decision of lockdown was extremely important as it had grave impact over the spread of disease.