Background
In response to the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), plenty of control measures were proposed. To assess the impact of current control measures on the number of new case indices 14 countries with the highest confirmed cases, highest mortality rate, and having a close relationship with the outbreak’s origin; were selected and analyzed.
Methods
In the study, we analyzed the impact of five control measures, including centralized isolation of all confirmed cases, closure of schools, closure of public areas, closure of cities, and closure of borders of the 14 targeted countries according to their timing; by comparing its absolute effect average, its absolute effect cumulative, and its relative effect average.
Results
Our analysis determined that early centralized isolation of all confirmed cases was represented as a core intervention in significantly disrupting the pandemic’s spread. This strategy helped in successfully controlling the early stage of the outbreak when the total number of cases were under 100, without the requirement of the closure of cities and public areas, which would impose a negative impact on the society and its economy. However, when the number of cases increased with the apparition of new clusters, coordination between centralized isolation and non-pharmaceutical interventions facilitated control of the crisis efficiently.
Conclusion
Early centralized isolation of all confirmed cases should be implemented at the time of the first detected infectious case.
Vietnam has faced a high risk of transmission of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Despite the specific challenges that come with a low-resource country, the Vietnamese government has provided a sustainable response, demonstrating both great capacity and rapid decision-making to manage the entirety of the COVID-19 outbreak with lessons learned from the SARS and H1N1 epidemics in 2003 and 2009, respectively. A rapid response, specific epidemiological F0–F5 tracing system, and public education are some of the key measures that have helped Vietnam to control the outbreak. As of July 15, 2020, Vietnam has reported 373 accumulated confirmed cases and no deaths within the last 90 consecutive days of no new infections in the community. Vietnam can now consider declaring an end to the COVID-19 crisis on their part.
School closure was the only main control measure that Japan took into action from late February to late March in 2020. Accurate evaluation of how Japanese citizens responded to the impact of school closure remains a challenge. Data from the Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Report was used to analyze the mobility trend of Japanese citizens regarding six categories, including retail and recreation, grocery and pharmacy, parks, transit stations, workplace, and residential. The median percentage of mobility in all 47 prefectures of Japan was calculated during five periods of time, including one week before school closure, one week, two weeks, three weeks, and four weeks after school closure. There was a significant decline in the mobility trend of transit stations, grocery and pharmacy, parks, retail and recreation, and workplace at the moment after school closure compared to the prior period. Inversely, the mobility trend in staying at home remarkably increased following the implementation of school closure. Our study determined a significant change in the mobility trend of Japanese citizens before and after school closure. These data reflected the responsibility and the consciousness of Japanese citizens in mitigating COVID-19.
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