SynthesisBMJ global health2021
Evidence of the effectiveness of travel-related measures during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- An analysis of WHO's Temporary Recommendations on international travel and trade measures during Public Health Emergencies of International Concern.BMJ global health · 2023Guideline
- Classification Schemes of COVID-19 High Risk Areas and Resulting Policies: A Rapid Review.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- How an outbreak became a pandemic: a chronological analysis of crucial junctures and international obligations in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.Lancet (London, England) · 2021Pooled it
- Public health effects of travel-related policies on the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods systematic review.The Journal of infection · 2021Pooled it
- Policy challenges in the provision of COVID-19 border screening: evidence from eight countries.BMC public health · 2026Review
- Comparative Analysis of Flight Volume Effects on COVID-19 and Influenza Transmission Across Variable Control Intensities, 2019-2024.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Evaluating adherence to COVID-19 quarantine protocols at two international ground crossings in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR.Tropical medicine and health · 2026Article
- Globalisation, rising authoritarianism, declining solidarity, and retreating multilateralism: A perfect storm for amplifying the risk of outbreaks.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Importation models for travel-related SARS-CoV-2 cases reported in Newfoundland and Labrador during the COVID-19 pandemic.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Establishing a European wastewater pathogen monitoring network employing aviation samples: a proof of concept.Human genomics · 2025Review
- Phylogeographic evaluation of the effectiveness of Canadian travel restrictions in reducing SARS-CoV-2 variant importations and burden.Virus evolution · 2025Article
- The use of quarantine as an international travel measure during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative analysis of implementation and equity impacts in five "exemplar" countries.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- An observational study on imported COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong during mandatory on-arrival hotel quarantine.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Evaluation of risk-based travel policy for the COVID-19 epidemic in Scotland: a population-based surveillance study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- The adoption of international travel measures during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive analysis.Globalization and health · 2024Article
- Understanding the secondary outcomes of international travel measures during the covid-19 pandemic: a scoping review of social impact evidence.Globalization and health · 2024Article
- Global Mpox spread due to increased air travel.Geospatial health · 2024Article
- Coping strategies, resilience and quality of life: reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic among Romanian physicians.Human resources for health · 2024Article
- The effects of public health and social measures (PHSM) implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of systematic reviews.Cochrane evidence synthesis and methods · 2024Review
- The economic impact of international travel measures used during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.BMJ global health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo review the effectiveness of travel measures implemented during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform changes on how evidence is incorporated in the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).
designWe used an abbreviated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols to identify studies that investigated the effectiveness of travel-related measures preprinted or published by 1 June 2020.
resultsWe identified 29 studies, of which 26 were modelled. Thirteen studies investigated international measures, while 17 investigated domestic measures (one investigated both). There was a high level of agreement that the adoption of travel measures led to important changes in the dynamics of the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: the Wuhan measures reduced the number of cases exported internationally by 70%-80% and led to important reductions in transmission within Mainland China. Additional travel measures, including flight restrictions to and from China, may have led to additional reductions in the number of exported cases. Few studies investigated the effectiveness of measures implemented in other contexts. Early implementation was identified as a determinant of effectiveness. Most studies of international travel measures did not account for domestic travel measures thus likely leading to biased estimates.
conclusionTravel measures played an important role in shaping the early transmission dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an urgent need to address important evidence gaps and also a need to review how evidence is incorporated in the IHR in the early phases of a novel infectious disease outbreak.
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