Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33052958›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Assessment of early mitigation measures against COVID-19 in Puerto Rico: March 15-May 15, 2020.

Miguel Valencia, José E Becerra, Juan C Reyes, Kenneth G Castro

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Minimizing Societal Cost of Epidemics: Optimal Catastrophe Insurance Compensation Allocation.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Understanding Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 on Puerto Rican Youth: Influence of Parental Stress.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024
    Article
  5. Article
  6. COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Health Behaviors in Puerto Rico.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2022
    Article
  7. Factors that influence Puerto Rican's intention to get the COVID-19 vaccine.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2022
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Miguel ValenciaData Management Operations for COVID-19 Legacy Systems, Puerto Rico Department of Health, San Juan, PR.
José E BecerraGraduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR.ORCID 0000-0002-7425-8501
Juan C ReyesDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR.
Kenneth G CastroHubert Department of Global Health & Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus · PREmory University · USPuerto Rico Department of Health · PR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

On March 15, 2020 Puerto Rico implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including a mandatory curfew, as part of a state of emergency declaration to prevent the community transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The strict enforcement of this curfew was extended through May 25, with a gradual relaxation beginning on May 1. This report summarizes an assessment of these early mitigation measures on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in the island. From March 15 to May 15, 2020, 70,656 results of molecular (RT-PCR) tests were reported to the Puerto Rico Department of Health. Of these, 1,704 were positive, corresponding to 1,311 individuals with COVID-19 included in the study. We derived the epidemic growth rates (r) and the corresponding reproductive numbers (R) from the epidemic curve of these 1,311 individuals with laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 using their date of test collection as a proxy for symptoms onset. Through May 31, 2020, there were 143 COVID-19 associated deaths in Puerto Rico, for a case fatality risk of 10.9%. We compared the observed cases and deaths with Gompertz model projections had the mitigation measures not been implemented. The number of daily RT-PCR-confirmed cases peaked on March 30 (85 cases), showing a weekly cyclical trend, with lower counts on weekends and a decreasing secular trend since March 30. The initial exponential growth rate (r) was 15.87% (95% CI: 7.59%, 24.15%), corresponding to R of 1.82 (95% CI:1.37, 2.30). After March 30, the r value reverted to an exponential decay rate (negative) of -2.95% (95% CI: -4.99%, -0.92%), corresponding to R of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.98). We estimate that, had the initial growth rate been maintained, a total of 6,155 additional COVID-19 cases would have occurred by May 15, with 211 additional COVID-19 deaths by May 31. These findings are consistent with very effective implementation of early NPIs as mitigation measures in Puerto Rico. These results also provide a baseline to assess the impact of the transition from mitigation to subsequent containment stages in Puerto Rico.

Indexed as

Clinical Laboratory TechniquesCommunicable Disease ControlCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19COVID-19 TestingHumansPandemicsPneumonia, ViralPuerto RicoRisk Management

Identifiers

PMID33052958
PMCPMC7556465
OpenAlexW3093389139

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.