A study led by Dr. Keisuke Kondo at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, has recently developed a spatial Susceptible–Exposed–Infectious–Recovered (SEIR) model to investigate the impacts of interregional mobility restriction on the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study findings indicate that wide geographical spread of COVID-19 cases can be prevented by restricting movements between prefectures; however, mobility restriction seems to have limited effects on reducing the overall prevalence of COVID-19 nationwide. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.
