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. 2021 Feb:36:100402.
doi: 10.1016/j.sste.2021.100402. Epub 2021 Jan 9.

Double jeopardy; What happens when an epidemic is followed by an earthquake?

M Ćurković  1 , L Svetina  2 , A Košec  3
Affiliations

Double jeopardy; What happens when an epidemic is followed by an earthquake?

M Ćurković et al. Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

A crisis is an immediate threat to the functioning of society, while disaster is an actual manifestation of a crisis. Both are now even more critically socially constructed. In the middle of battle with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Republic of Croatia's capital of Zagreb was afflicted with another disaster - two severe earthquakes. Restrictive public health measures were already in place, including restriction on public transport, travel between regions, closure of educational and other public institutions, alongside measures of physical distancing. Most previous cases of COVID-19 were centered in Zagreb, leading to concern of spreading the disease into disease-free communities. It seems that earthquakes did not have an effect on disease transmission - the number of COVID-19 cases remained stable through the 14-day incubation period, with a linear pandemic curve in Croatia in April, and flattened in May. This leads to a conclusion that the earthquake did not have a direct effect on disease spread. Despite the fact that the current pandemic and its responses are unique, this paradox can have interesting repercussions on how we conceptualize and approach notions as vulnerability and resilience.

Keywords: COVID-19; Crisis; Earthquake; Pandemic; resilience.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest MC have received lecture honoraria from Lundbeck, Sandoz, Janssen, Pliva (Teva) and Alkaloid. DC, AK, and LS have no conflicts of interest to declare

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Maternity ward in Zagreb being evacuated immediately after the earthquake at 7 am, March 22nd.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
New COVID-19 positive cases in Zagreb during the epidemic.
Fig 3
Fig. 3
Representation of newly diagnosed, cured and deceased patients during the epidemic.
Fig 4
Fig. 4
Testing frequency during the earthquake and epidemic timeframe.
Fig 5
Fig. 5
Number of total positive, cured patients and deaths during the epidemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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