Compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures is high among university-level students in Québec, Canada

BACKGROUND: Canada’s nationwide lockdown to curb coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections affected many sectors of activity, including universities. During the 2020–2021 academic year, all students were forced to follow their lectures from home and the only in-person activity permitted to Québec university level students was to study in designated spaces of campus libraries where COVID-19 preventive measures were in place and mandatory at all times for all staff and students. The objective of this study is to evaluate university-level students’ compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures in a Québec campus library. METHODS: A direct in-person evaluation by a trained observer was put in place to assess students’ compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures defined as proper mask wearing and 2 meter distancing. Measurements were made each Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. from March 28 to April 25, 2021, in a university library in Québec, Canada. RESULTS: Students’ compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures was high overall (78.4%) and increased over the weeks, with differences between weeks, weekdays, and time of day. Non-compliance was lower on weeks three and four of the assessment compared with week one, and higher on Sunday compared with Wednesday. Differences seen throughout the day were not statistically significant. Non-compliance with physical distancing was rarely seen. CONCLUSION: Most university-level students are compliant with COVID-19 preventive measures in a Québec university library: an encouraging behaviour from a public health perspective. These findings may support public health authorities or university administrators in decisions regarding different COVID-19 preventive measures directed to different universities settings, as this method can be applied to focused, rapid observational studies and can lead to data of sufficient statistical power.