Social Contact Patterns and Age Mixing before and during COVID-19 Pandemic, Greece, January 2020-October 2021

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Social Sciences

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated widespread social distancing measures.
• Understanding changes in social contact patterns is crucial for pandemic control.
• Greece implemented multiple lockdowns between March 2020 and October 2021.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify social contact patterns in Greece before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To assess the impact of successive lockdowns on social distancing adherence.
• To evaluate trends in social contact over the pandemic period.

Main Methods:

• Collection of social contact data in Greece.
• Comparison of contact patterns in January 2020 (prepandemic) with March 2020-October 2021 (during pandemic).
• Analysis of contact frequency across different age groups and lockdown periods.

Main Results:

• Mean daily contacts dropped from 20.4 prepandemic to 2.8-5.9 during lockdowns.
• Individuals over 65 years maintained the lowest contact rates.
• Contact numbers increased with each subsequent lockdown, particularly in 2021, indicating waning adherence.

Conclusions:

• Social distancing compliance decreased over successive COVID-19 lockdowns in Greece.
• Targeted risk communication and tailored social distancing strategies may be more effective than repeated blanket lockdowns.
• Evidence suggests a need for adaptive public health strategies to manage pandemic-related behavioral changes.