A Comparative Retrospective Study of COVID-19 Responses in Four Countries

Abstract

Objective This study compared the government policies and non-pharmaceutical interventions adopted by South Korea, Japan, India, and China in response to COVID-19 during 2020-2021. We hope that our study would propose policies for future COVID-19 waves and provide lessons for future responses to similar infectious diseases.Methods We made a retrospective study by analyzing the government policies and non-pharmaceutical interventions in these four countries. Results From January 2020 to May 18, 2021, South Korea and Japan experienced three waves of COVID-19 epidemic, but the number of daily new confirmed cases per million people was relatively small in both countries, and South Korea had fewer daily new confirmed cases per million than Japan. Following the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019, China successfully contained the first wave of the outbreak and is not currently experiencing a large-scale resurgence of the epidemic. India is experiencing a grim second wave of the epidemic, with far more daily new confirmed cases per million people than South Korea and Japan. Throughout 2020, the number of COVID-19 deaths per million population remains low in South Korea, Japan, and China, while India has seen an upward trend in deaths per million population since July. As of May 18, 2021, the number of total tests per thousand people in South Korea, India, and Japan was 230.65, 181.23, and 99.59, respectively. South Korea and India both have more than twice as total tests per thousand people as Japan.Conclusion Successful practices in China and South Korea show that--case identification and management, coupled with close contact tracing and isolation, is a powerful strategy. The lessons of Japan and India show that social distancing is an effective measure, but only if it is rigor and persistent. Finally, in both developed and developing countries, the development of health care systems and coordinated government leadership play a key role in overcoming epidemics.