Implications of a Pandemic Outbreak Risk: A Discussion on China’s Emergency Logistics in the Era of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Abstract

Emergency logistics is an important means to deal with disasters and public crises. Since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus in 2003, China has established and developed an emergency logistics management system. With the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China, its emergency logistics system is facing unfolded challenges. The main purposes of this study are to explore the development of China's emergency logistics system in this context and identify the critical success factors for such systems. A series of focus groups are organized to collect the opinions of 24 interviewees from three Chinese cities, namely Wuhan, Shanghai, and Xi'an. Through the analysis, a framework of the critical success factors for emergency logistics in China is recreated. The key elements are demand forecasting and planning, inventory management, distribution network, and systematic information management. Findings suggest critical points on the design and implementation of the emergency logistics operations during a chaotic period.

Laboratory Readiness and Response for SARS-Cov-2 in Indonesia

“…This list included laboratories equipped only with PCR machines (558), TCM machines (70), and having both PCR and TCM machines (57). The top five provinces with the highest number of laboratories were West Java (104), DKI Jakarta (97), East Java (90), Central Java (49), and North Sumatera ( 23 ), reflecting the provinces with largest populations. These laboratories comprise of laboratories that belong to different ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Health; Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education; Subnational Governments; Indonesian Private Hospitals Association; Ministry of Research and Technology; Food and Drug Supervisory Agency; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of State Owned Enterprises; the State Police of the Republic of Indonesia; the Indonesian National Armed Forces; Ministry of Religion and the Indonesian Civil Servant Corps Foundation ( Supplementary Information ).…”

“…Thirdly, geographical and administrative fragmentation has been well-known to affect emergency logistical distribution, including reagents in Asia during SARS outbreak in 2003 ( 23 ) and Southeast Asia during H5N1 outbreak in the 2000s ( 32 ). Following previous natural and public health emergencies, Indonesia tried addressing a number of aspects to reduce the potential impact of this fragmentation during national emergencies ( 33 , 34 ).…”

Strategic locations for logistics distribution centers along the Belt and Road: Explorative analysis and research agenda

“…The United Arab Emirates, and Dubai in particular, are an ideal location for an LDC given the location's potential to produce and/or assemble localized products for Eastern Europe and African and Middle East markets, thereby lowering transport and warehousing costs, and mitigating risks from manpower mobility and resources caused by COVID-19 (Lau et al, 2020) and decoupling and trade conflicts between China and US, by moving resources and production lines from China. These are multi-dimensional roles of a global LDC or logistics hub for China's economy.…”

Healthcare Supply Chain Management under COVID-19 Settings: The Existing Practices in Hong Kong and the United States

“…Italy was the first European country to fall under the impact of COVID-19 after the early transmission in China [ 3 ]. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) quickly declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, which is described as “the occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal expectancy” [ 4 ]. COVID-19 has rapidly spread all over the world within a short time period because neither specific vaccines nor antiviral treatments were available.…”

“…A rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases in Asia, the United States, and European regions led to the implementation of various strategies by the relevant authorities, such as “lock-downs”, “staying-at-home” orders, quarantines, social distancing policy, restrictions on public gatherings, public health campaigns (e.g., decreasing face touching, face coverings, and wearing masks in the public areas, decreasing the use of shared public spaces, and increasing handwashing), provisional shutdown of certain businesses (e.g., entertainment facilities, shopping malls, and restaurants) [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Online teaching and learning were implemented in response to “school-closures” globally [ 4 , 10 , 11 ]. To begin with, the number of COVID-19 cases was mostly observed among the older population groups (i.e., >65 years).…”