Adoption of “Stay at Home” Orders During the Pandemic  

Woman smiling at camera.

 

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 25, 2021) - Associate Professor Erika Martin and PhD candidate Philip Gigliotti recently explored the differences between states that were early and late to adopt “stay at home” orders, finding that they differed politically as well as for outbreak severity, availability of public health resources, and changes in the mobility of residents away from home.    

As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated in March 2020, U.S. states adopted “stay at home” orders to limit their residents’ movements away from home and slow the spread of the virus. However, this public health intervention became politically polarized some governors rushed to adopt these orders, while others resisted until White House recommendations were issued on March 29, 2020.    

The research findings show that Republican governors were significantly less likely to adopt a stay-at-home order. However, states with higher per capita COVID-19 diagnoses and lower hospital capacity were more likely to adopt an order, suggesting greater responsiveness in states more directly threatened by the pandemic.    

Residents in states with a stay-at-home order spent less time away from home, suggesting that these orders were effective in limiting social interactions to prevent viral transmission. However, states with high support for President Trump had smaller reductions in residents’ mobility, indicating that political ideology may have compromised compliance with social distancing policies.    

This study also suggests that state-level COVID-19 policies are responsive to public health dynamics. As the pandemic expands across the U.S., similar responsiveness to evidence-based public health may promote effective prevention and mitigation efforts. The full article is available here.    

Martin has had several other COVID-19 pieces published at JAMA Network Open, the Health Affairs Blog, and JAMA Health Forum. Gigliotti is finishing his dissertation on performance management strategies in local health departments.