Researchers from Ben-Gurion University, Israel, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and Tel Aviv University, Israel, conducted a study to find the correlation between mass gatherings and hospitalisation risk due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The study titled “Association of Mass Gatherings and COVID-19 Hospitalization” was published in the journal medRxiv.

The researchers noted that during the beginning of the pandemic, restrictions were imposed to curb the virus, which were eventually relaxed by September.

The researchers intended to analyse mass gatherings that happened due to outdoor election rallies in Beltrami, Minnesota (seen on September 18, 2020), and Marathon, Wisconsin (on September 17, 2020).

They tracked and assessed the rates of Covid-19 hospitalisations in these regions via the Covid-tracking project. The States were Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, wrote the researchers.

The findings of the study revealed a significant increase in Covid-19 related hospitalisations after the mass gatherings.

Researchers saw a two-fold rise in hospitalisation cases in Minnesota; a 15-fold rise in Beltrami; a 12.7-fold rise was recorded in Marathon; threefold in Wisconsin, while no significant rise was seen in non-gathering states.

The researchers suggested further restrictions on mass gatherings such as “political rallies, large school assemblies, and cultural events.”

They suggested preparations by healthcare infrastructures (including the hospitals) near regions where such gatherings are allowed. Social distancing and masks must be worn along with avoidance of such gatherings to reduce the risk of infections and resulting hospitalisations, they concluded.

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