Assessment of Community Behavior and COVID-19 Transmission during Festivities in India: A Qualitative Synthesis through a Media Scanning Technique

Sumit Aggarwal (), Nupur Mahajan, Simran Kohli, Sivaraman Balaji, Tanvi Singh, Geetha R. Menon, Kiran Rade and Samiran Panda ()
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Sumit Aggarwal: Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Building, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Nupur Mahajan: Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Building, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Simran Kohli: Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Medical Statistics, New Delhi 110029, India
Sivaraman Balaji: Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Building, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Tanvi Singh: Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Medical Statistics, New Delhi 110029, India
Geetha R. Menon: Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Medical Statistics, New Delhi 110029, India
Kiran Rade: Central Tuberculosis Division, World Health Organization, New Delhi 110002, India
Samiran Panda: Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Building, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-18

Abstract: In India during the first wave of COVID-19 infection, the authorities were concerned about the advent of the festive season, which could lead to a surge in cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The present study attempted to assess the socio-behavioral aspects of COVID-appropriate behavior (CAB) at individual and community levels, and their impact on the transmission of COVID-19 during festivities in India. Media scanning was conducted to qualitatively assess CAB by analyzing 284 news reports from across India; quantitative data on COVID-19 daily cases from March 2020 to December 2020 were used to determine the trends of the adjusted test positivity (ATP) ratio for six cities. Peaks in ATP were observed in Chandigarh, Delhi-NCR in North India during and after Dussehra and Deepavali, and in Mumbai, in the west, after Navratri. Additionally, a surge in ATP was observed in Trivandrum after Onam and in Chennai around Deepavali in the south; meanwhile, in the eastern city of Kolkata, cases increased following Durga Puja. The major challenges were adherence to CAB viz. social distancing, hygiene, and compliance with the mask mandate. Microlevel CAB indicated relatively higher laxity in maintaining hand hygiene in all cities. Observations from the current study indicate that innovative community-driven initiatives during festivals in each geographical zone are key to the large-scale implementation of disease prevention measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; festivals; COVID-appropriate behavior; media scanning; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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