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Effective COVID-19 Control: A Comparative Analysis of the Stringency and Timeliness of Government Responses in Asia.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Chen, S; Guo, L; Alghaith, T; Dong, D; Alluhidan, M; Hamza, MM; Herbst, CH; Zhang, X; Tagtag, GCA; Zhang, Y; Alazemi, N; Saber, R; Tang, S ...
Published in: Int J Environ Res Public Health
August 17, 2021

AIM: Many governments in East and Southeast Asia responded promptly and effectively at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Synthesizing and analyzing these responses is vital for disease control evidence-based policymaking. METHODS: An extensive review of COVID-19 control measures was conducted in selected Asian countries and subregions, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Vietnam from 1 January to 30 May 2020. Control measures were categorized into administrative, public health, and health system measures. To evaluate the stringency and timeliness of responses, we developed two indices: the Initial Response Index (IRI) and the Modified Stringency Index (MSI), which builds on the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT). RESULTS: Comprehensive administrative, public health, and health system control measures were implemented at the onset of the outbreak. Despite variations in package components, the stringency of control measures across the study sites increased with the acceleration of the outbreak, with public health control measures implemented the most stringently. Variations in daily average MSI scores are observed, with Mainland China scoring the highest (74.2), followed by Singapore (67.4), Vietnam (66.8), Hong Kong (66.2), South Korea (62.3), Taiwan (52.1), and Japan (50.3). Variations in IRI scores depicting timeliness were higher: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Singapore acted faster (IRI > 50.0), while Japan (42.4) and Mainland China (4.2) followed. CONCLUSIONS: Timely setting of stringency of the control measures, especially public health measures, at dynamically high levels is key to optimally controlling outbreaks.

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Published In

Int J Environ Res Public Health

DOI

EISSN

1660-4601

Publication Date

August 17, 2021

Volume

18

Issue

16

Location

Switzerland

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Pandemics
  • Humans
  • Hong Kong
  • Government
  • COVID-19
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Chen, S., Guo, L., Alghaith, T., Dong, D., Alluhidan, M., Hamza, M. M., … Tang, S. (2021). Effective COVID-19 Control: A Comparative Analysis of the Stringency and Timeliness of Government Responses in Asia. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 18(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168686
Chen, Shu, Lei Guo, Taghred Alghaith, Di Dong, Mohammed Alluhidan, Mariam M. Hamza, Christopher H. Herbst, et al. “Effective COVID-19 Control: A Comparative Analysis of the Stringency and Timeliness of Government Responses in Asia.Int J Environ Res Public Health 18, no. 16 (August 17, 2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168686.
Chen S, Guo L, Alghaith T, Dong D, Alluhidan M, Hamza MM, et al. Effective COVID-19 Control: A Comparative Analysis of the Stringency and Timeliness of Government Responses in Asia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 17;18(16).
Chen, Shu, et al. “Effective COVID-19 Control: A Comparative Analysis of the Stringency and Timeliness of Government Responses in Asia.Int J Environ Res Public Health, vol. 18, no. 16, Aug. 2021. Pubmed, doi:10.3390/ijerph18168686.
Chen S, Guo L, Alghaith T, Dong D, Alluhidan M, Hamza MM, Herbst CH, Zhang X, Tagtag GCA, Zhang Y, Alazemi N, Saber R, Alsukait R, Tang S. Effective COVID-19 Control: A Comparative Analysis of the Stringency and Timeliness of Government Responses in Asia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 17;18(16).

Published In

Int J Environ Res Public Health

DOI

EISSN

1660-4601

Publication Date

August 17, 2021

Volume

18

Issue

16

Location

Switzerland

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Pandemics
  • Humans
  • Hong Kong
  • Government
  • COVID-19