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The physical environment of correctional facilities promote infectious disease transmission and outbreaks. The purpose of this study is to compare the COVID-19 burden between the correctional facility (incarcerated individuals and staff members) and non-correctional facility population in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All individuals in Ontario with a laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 between 15 January 2020 and 31 December 2022 and entered into the provincial COVID-19 data were included. Cases were classified as a correctional facility case (living or working in a correctional facility) or a non-correctional facility case. COVID-19 vaccination status was obtained from the provincial COVID-19 vaccine registry. Statistics Canada census data were used to calculate COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates for incarcerated cases and the non-correctional facility population.

Between 15 January 2020 and 31 December 2022, there were 1,550,045 COVID-19 cases in Ontario of which 8,292 (0.53%) cases were reported in correctional (63.8% amongst incarcerated individuals, 18.6% amongst staff and 17.7% amongst an unknown classification) and 1,541,753 (99.47%) were non-correctional facility cases. Most cases in correctional facilities were men (83.8%) and aged 20–59 years (93.1%). COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates were generally higher among incarcerated individuals compared to the non-correctional facility population throughout the study period. COVID-19 incidence peaked in January 2022 for both the correctional facility population (21,543.8 per 100,000 population) and the non-correctional facility population (1915.1 per 100,000 population). The rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked for the correctional facility population aged 20–59 in March 2021 (70.7 per 100,000 population) and in April 2021 for the non-correctional facility population aged 20–59 (19.8 per 100,000 population). A greater percentage of incarcerated individuals (73.0%) were unvaccinated at time of their COVID-19 diagnosis compared to the non-correctional facility population (49.3%). Deaths amongst correctional facility cases were rare (0.1%, 6 / 8,292) compared to 1.0% of non-correctional facility cases (n = 15,787 / 1,541,753).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals incarcerated in correctional facilities in Ontario had higher COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates compared to the non-correctional facility population. These results support prioritizing incarcerated individuals for public health interventions to mitigate COVID-19 impacts in correctional facilities.

The purpose of this research is to identify and analyse the perceived risk factors affecting the safety of electric two-wheeler (E2W) riders in urban areas. Given the exponential growth of the global E2W market and the notable challenges offered by E2W vehicles as compared to electric cars, the study aims to propose a managerial framework, to increase the penetration of E2W in the emerging market, as a reliable, and sustainable mobility alternative.

The perceived risk factors of riding E2Ws are relatively scanty, especially in the context of emerging economies. A mixed-method research design is adopted to achieve the research objectives. Four expert groups are interviewed to identify crucial safety risk E2W factors. The grey-Delphi technique is used to confirm the applicability of the extracted risk factors in the Indian context. Next, the Grey-Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique is employed to reveal the causal-prominence relationship among the perceived risk factors. The dominance and prominence scores are used to perform Cause and Effect analysis and estimate the triggering risk factors.

The finding of the study suggests that reckless adventurism, adverse road conditions, individual characteristics and distraction caused by using mobile phones, as the topmost triggering risk factors that impact the safety of E2Ws drivers. Similarly, reliability on battery performance low velocity and heavy traffic conditions are found to be some of the critical safety factors.

E2Ws are anticipated to represent the future of sustainable mobility in emerging nations. While they provide convenient and quick transportation for daily urban commutes, certain risk factors are contributing to increased accident rates. This research analyses these risk factors to offer a comprehensive view of driver and rider safety. Unlike conventional measures, it considers subjective quality and reliability parameters, such as battery performance and reckless adventurism. Identifying the most significant causal risk factors helps policymakers focus on the most prominent issues, thereby enhancing the adoption of E2Ws in emerging markets.

We have proposed an integrated framework that uses grey theory with Delphi and DEMATEL to analyse the safety risk factors of driving E2W vehicles considering the uncertainty. In addition, the amalgamation of Delphi and DEMATEL helps not only to identify the pertinent safety risk factors, but also bifurcate them into cause-and-effect groups considering the mutual relationship between them. The framework will enable practitioners and policymakers to design preventive strategies to minimize risk and boost the penetration of E2Ws in an emerging country, like India.