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Comparison of Public Responses to Containment Measures During the Initial Outbreak and Resurgence of COVID-19 in China: Infodemiology Study
- Source :
- Journal of Medical Internet Research, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Vol 23, Iss 4, p e26518 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- JMIR Publications Inc., 2021.
-
Abstract
- Background COVID-19 cases resurged worldwide in the second half of 2020. Not much is known about the changes in public responses to containment measures from the initial outbreak to resurgence. Monitoring public responses is crucial to inform policy measures to prepare for COVID-19 resurgence. Objective This study aimed to assess and compare public responses to containment measures during the initial outbreak and resurgence of COVID-19 in China. Methods We curated all COVID-19–related posts from Sina Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) during the initial outbreak and resurgence of COVID-19 in Beijing, China. With a Python script, we constructed subsets of Weibo posts focusing on 3 containment measures: lockdown, the test-trace-isolate strategy, and suspension of gatherings. The Baidu open-source sentiment analysis model and latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling, a widely used machine learning algorithm, were used to assess public engagement, sentiments, and frequently discussed topics on each containment measure. Results A total of 8,985,221 Weibo posts were curated. In China, the containment measures evolved from a complete lockdown for the general population during the initial outbreak to a more targeted response strategy for high-risk populations during COVID-19 resurgence. Between the initial outbreak and resurgence, the average daily proportion of Weibo posts with negative sentiments decreased from 57% to 47% for the lockdown, 56% to 51% for the test-trace-isolate strategy, and 55% to 48% for the suspension of gatherings. Among the top 3 frequently discussed topics on lockdown measures, discussions on containment measures accounted for approximately 32% in both periods, but those on the second-most frequently discussed topic shifted from the expression of negative emotions (11%) to its impacts on daily life or work (26%). The public expressed a high level of panic (21%) during the initial outbreak but almost no panic (1%) during resurgence. The more targeted test-trace-isolate measure received the most support (60%) among all 3 containment measures in the initial outbreak, and its support rate approached 90% during resurgence. Conclusions Compared to the initial outbreak, the public expressed less engagement and less negative sentiments on containment measures and were more supportive toward containment measures during resurgence. Targeted test-trace-isolate strategies were more acceptable to the public. Our results indicate that when COVID-19 resurges, more targeted test-trace-isolate strategies for high-risk populations should be promoted to balance pandemic control and its impact on daily life and the economy.
- Subjects :
- China
020205 medical informatics
social media
topic modeling
Population
Health Informatics
latent Dirichlet allocation
02 engineering and technology
lcsh:Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics
Public opinion
Disease Outbreaks
Infodemiology
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Beijing
Political science
Pandemic
0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
Humans
Social media
030212 general & internal medicine
Public engagement
education
Pandemics
Original Paper
education.field_of_study
sentiment
SARS-CoV-2
business.industry
lcsh:Public aspects of medicine
COVID-19
Outbreak
lcsh:RA1-1270
public response
Public Opinion
Communicable Disease Control
lcsh:R858-859.7
business
engagement
Demography
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 14394456
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Medical Internet Research, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Vol 23, Iss 4, p e26518 (2021)
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....87e9d1e7a834076f5f4ba2cd4f345971