Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.A 2007 analysis of the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919, for example, found that earlier closure of schools and bans on public gatherings by U.S.
city authorities was associated with lower subsequent mortality in those cities.Researchers in Philadelphia, PA, have now published one of the first studies specifically assessing the effect of physical distancing on COVID-19 death rates. They used the unambiguous dates when states declared emergencies and closed schools as proxies for when each began to implement significant physical distancing measures.