Public Health Crises In Comparison: China’s Epidemic Response Policies From SARS To COVID-19

Abstract

The rate of infectious disease outbreaks has been accelerating over the past two decades, from the SARS epidemic in 2003 to COVID-19 in 2020. Termed by some as the twenty-first century's first pandemic, SARS originated in China and alerted the country to the importance of public health and epidemic response. After SARS, China improved its health infrastructure and reformed its political and legal health governance system. The emergence of COVID-19 from Wuhan in late 2019 put those reforms to the test. This paper analyses China's public health and epidemic response policies from a historical perspective, tracing the evolution of Chinese public health policies after the SARS outbreak in 2003. This paper assesses China's response to COVID-19 and how post-SARS policy reforms, particularly in epidemic response, played out on the ground in Wuhan. What policies worked well? What were the challenges faced? Based on the policy analysis, this paper presents recommendations for how China can improve its epidemic response through strengthened infectious disease surveillance, more transparent political coordination, and expanded public health infrastructure.

Multiplicity and dynamics of social representations of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese social media from 2019 to 2020

“…Drawing on lessons from the SARS outbreak of 2002, China has constructed a more efficient network of disease control and prevention systems. However, in the very initial outbreak stage, resources and planning from the central and strong governmental system for controlling pandemics and maintaining social stability might not be sufficient ( Li, 2021 ; Nkengasong, 2020 ). Social media has afforded discussion of COVID-19 in real-time, making it one of the primary sources for the public to make sense of the pandemic and to cope with the unknown threat ( Abdul-Baki et al, 2020 ).…”

Politics and pandemics

“…The authors show that the interaction and articulation of social policiessuch as cash transfers and as unemployment insurancewere crucial to determine the success or failure of the public health measures implemented in these countries the first months of the pandemic. The following paper, 'Public Health Crises In Comparison: China's Epidemic Response Policies From SARS To COVID-19', from Li (Li, 2021), analyses the Chinese response to two recent epidemics -SARS and COVID-19. Drawing from documental analysis and interviews with experts, Li examines the health system reforms that were implemented in China after the SARS epidemic in 2003 and how they played out on the ground in Wuhan when COVID arrived in 2019.…”

Healthcare Decision-Making in a Crisis: A Qualitative Systemic Review Protocol

“…Keown‐McMullan [ 14 ] proposed the anatomy of a “crisis” comprised of (i) the trigger for the crisis being perceived, (ii) the feeling of not being able to cope with the change that is taking place, and (iii) the trigger poses a threat to survival. The recent COVID-19 pandemic is an example of a community crisis affecting the whole of society when many of the previously known and successful public health containment strategies and disaster management processes for containing the 2003 SARS and other infectious disease epidemics were overwhelmed [ 15 ]. After the initial shock of the increased incidence of hospitalization and mortality in early 2020, the initial public health response included national lockdown, quarantine, and increased hospital bed capacity to cope with the surge in demands.…”