Statistical indicators of compliance with anti-COVID-19 public health measures at European airports

Abstract

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International travel and the infrastructures involved are key elements in controlling and predicting the number of infections by an infectious disease (specifically COVID-19 cases). This research presents the rates or percentages of compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures at several international airports in Europe (Madrid, Dublin, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Zurich, Barcelona, and Bilbao). A structured survey called the COVID-19 Measures Implementation Rate at Airports (MIRA) was developed. First, the validity and reliability of the measurements obtained by MIRA were analyzed. A total of 1239 volunteers (passengers, cabin crew, and ground crew) participated in the study and answered the MIRA questionnaire. Second, once the validity and reliability of the measurements were assured, the rates or percentages of cases that observed compliance with the mitigation measures were calculated. The results indicated that participants perceived a low degree of compliance with sanitary measures in their international travel (the proportions ranged from 52.6% to 59%). The airports with the highest compliance with mitigation measures were the Dublin (with a rate of 70%) and Zurich airports (with a rate of 69.1%). In conclusion, the percentages could be low due to the ineffective implementation of some of the mitigation measures. The low percentages are not related to the health measures themselves. The implications of mitigation measures for containing the transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 are discussed.