The Pandemic League of COVID-19: Korea Versus the United States, With Lessons for the Entire World

Issac, Alwin; Stephen, Shine; Jacob, Jaison; Vr, Vijay; Radhakrishnan, Rakesh Vadakkethil; Krishnan, Nadiya; Dhandapani, Manju

doi:10.3961/jpmph.20.166

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…The knowledge of COVID-19 infection control must be translated into practice. 28,29 The limitations of our study include the noncontrolled design, short period of assessment, and single-center evaluation, which can limit its generalizability. We have not included neurotrauma cases, as many of these patients would have received emergency care in other centers before reaching us.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19: changing patterns among neurosurgical patients from North India, efficacy of repeat testing, and inpatient prevalence

Sahoo¹,

Dhandapani²,

Singh³

et al. 2020

Neurosurgical Focus

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OBJECTIVECOVID-19 has affected surgical practice globally. Treating neurosurgical patients with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic is challenging in institutions with shared patient areas. The present study was performed to assess the changing patterns of neurosurgical cases, the efficacy of repeated testing before surgery, and the prevalence of COVID-19 in asymptomatic neurosurgical inpatients.METHODSCases of non–trauma-related neurosurgical patients treated at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were reviewed. During the pandemic, all patients underwent a nasopharyngeal swab reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction test to detect COVID-19 at admission. Patients who needed immediate intervention were surgically treated following a single COVID-19 test, while stable patients who initially tested negative for COVID-19 were subjected to repeated testing at least 5 days after the first test and within 48 hours prior to the planned surgery. The COVID-19 positivity rate was compared with the local period prevalence. The number of patients who tested positive at the second test, following a negative first test, was used to determine the probable number of people who could have become infected during the surgical procedure without second testing.RESULTSOf the total 1769 non–trauma-related neurosurgical patients included in this study, a mean of 337.2 patients underwent surgery per month before COVID-19, while a mean of 184.2 patients (54.6% of pre–COVID-19 capacity) underwent surgery per month during the pandemic period, when COVID-19 cases were on the rise in India. There was a significant increase in the proportion of patients undergoing surgery for a ruptured aneurysm, stroke, hydrocephalus, and cerebellar tumors, while the number of patients seeking surgery for chronic benign diseases declined. At the first COVID-19 test, 4 patients (0.48%) tested were found to have the disease, a proportion 3.7 times greater than that found in the local community. An additional 5 patients tested positive at the time of the second COVID-19 test, resulting in an overall inpatient period prevalence of 1%, in contrast to a 0.2% national cumulative caseload. It is possible that COVID-19 was prevented in approximately 67.4 people every month by using double testing.CONCLUSIONSCOVID-19 has changed the pattern of neurosurgical procedures, with acute cases dominating the practice. Despite the fact that the pandemic has not yet reached its peak in India, COVID-19 has been detected 3.7 times more often in asymptomatic neurosurgical inpatients than in the local community, even with single testing. Double testing displays an incremental value by disclosing COVID-19 overall in 1 in 100 inpatients and thus averting its spread through neurosurgical services.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19: changing patterns among neurosurgical patients from North India, efficacy of repeat testing, and inpatient prevalence

Sahoo¹,

Dhandapani²,

Singh³

et al. 2020

Neurosurgical Focus

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“…The administrator’s accuracy in data sharing of the key features of the outbreak prevented ambiguity and confusion among the public. Moreover, Korea had formal standard operating procedures to be followed regarding the containment of epidemics [ 37 ]. These measures helped them to limit the number of cases to 14,092 with a commendable recovery response (RR) of 91.30% [ 33 ] ( Table 1 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The public maintained social distancing [36]. The death per million population in Sweden was 564 (Table 1) Moreover, Korea had formal standard operating procedures to be followed regarding the containment of epidemics [37].…”

Section: Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19: Weighing the Endeavors of Nations, with Time to Event Analysis

Stephen¹,

Issac²,

Jacob³

et al. 2020

Osong Public Health Res Perspect

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The cataclysmic COVID-19 pandemic erupted silently causing colossal impact worldwide, the repercussions of which indicated a lackadaisical vigilance in preparation for such a pandemic. This review assessed the measures taken by nations to contain this pandemic. A literature review was conducted using Medline, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and WHO website. There were 8 nations (selected from the GHS index list) appraised for containment strategies. This was achieved by using mortality rate (per million) as the primary endpoint. The nations which were proactive, initiated scientific strategies earlier with rigor, appeared to have succeeded in containing the pandemic, although it is still too early to arbitrate a verdict. The so called "pandemic war" mandates international, interdisciplinary, and interdepartmental collaboration. Furthermore, building trust and confidence between the government and the public, having transparent communication, information sharing, use of advanced research-technology, and plentiful resources are required in the fight against COVID-19.

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“…Rapid spread among a religious group was the first and toughest challenge faced until alert level changed to “red” on February 23, after which various group infections were diagnosed in workplaces such as health-care facilities, sports clubs, call centers, and coin karaoke and nightlife locations [ [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] ]. Taking rapid, intrusive measures against COVID-19, Korea has slowed the spread of the virus and flattened the curve of new infections [ 13 ] with quick and numerous tests for early detection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Distancing and Public Health Guidelines at Workplaces in Korea: Responses to Coronavirus Disease-19

Kim

2020

Safety and Health at Work

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Background In the absence of a vaccine or treatment, the most pragmatic strategies against an infectious disease pandemic are extensive early detection testing and social distancing. This study aimed to summarize public and workplace responses to Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) and show how the Korean system has operated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method Daily briefings from the Korean Center for Disease Control and the Central Disaster Management Headquarters were assembled from January 20 to May 15, 2020. Results By May 15, 2020, 11,018 COVID-19 cases were identified, of which 15.7% occurred in workplaces such as health-care facilities, call centers, sports clubs, coin karaoke, and nightlife destinations. When the first confirmed case was diagnosed, the Korean Center for Disease Control and Central Disaster Management Headquarters responded quickly, emphasizing early detection with numerous tests and a social distancing policy. This slowed the spread of infection without intensive containment, shut down, or mitigation interventions. After entering the public health blue alert level, a business continuity plan was distributed. After entering the orange level, the Ministry of Employment and Labor developed workplace guidelines for COVID-19 consisting of social distancing, flexible working schedules, early identification of workers with suspected infections, and disinfection of workplaces. Owing to the intensive workplace social distancing policy, workplaces remained safe with only small sporadic group infections. Conclusion The workplace social distancing policy with timely implementation of specific guidelines was a key to preventing a large outbreak of COVID-19 in Korean workplaces. However, sporadic incidents of COVID-19 are still ongoing, and risk assessment in vulnerable workplaces should be continued.

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The Pandemic League of COVID-19: Korea Versus the United States, With Lessons for the Entire World

Cited by 21 publications

References 2 publications

COVID-19: changing patterns among neurosurgical patients from North India, efficacy of repeat testing, and inpatient prevalence

COVID-19: changing patterns among neurosurgical patients from North India, efficacy of repeat testing, and inpatient prevalence

COVID-19: Weighing the Endeavors of Nations, with Time to Event Analysis

Social Distancing and Public Health Guidelines at Workplaces in Korea: Responses to Coronavirus Disease-19

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