A Look Behind the Scenes at COVID-19: National Strategies of Infection Control and Their Impact on Mortality

Samir Haj Bloukh, Zehra Edis, Annis A. Shaikh and Habib M. Pathan
Additional contact information
Samir Haj Bloukh: College of Pharmacy and Health Science, Department of Clinical Sciences, Ajman University, PO Box 346 Ajman, UAE
Zehra Edis: College of Pharmacy and Health Science, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ajman University, PO Box 346 Ajman, UAE
Annis A. Shaikh: Advanced Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, India
Habib M. Pathan: Advanced Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, India

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: (1) Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began spreading across the globe in December and, as of 9 July 2020, had inflicted more than 550,000 deaths. Public health measures implemented to control the outbreak caused socio-economic havoc in many countries. The pandemic highlighted the quality of health care systems, responses of policymakers in harmony with the population, and socio-economic resilience factors. We suggest that different national strategies had an impact on mortality and case count. (2) Methods: We collected fatality data for 17 countries until 2 June 2020 from public data and associated these with implemented containment measures. (3) Results: The outcomes present the effectiveness of control mechanisms in mitigating the virus for selected countries and the UAE as a special case. Pre-existing conditions defined the needed public health strategies and fatality numbers. Other pre-existing conditions, such as temperature, humidity, median age, and low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations played minor roles and may have had no direct impact on fatality rates. (4) Conclusions: Prevention, fast containment, adequate public health strategies, and importance of indoor environments were determining factors in mitigating the pandemic. Development of public health strategies adapted to pre-existing conditions for each country and community compliance with implemented policies ensure the successful control of pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; human coronavirus; pre-existing conditions; public health strategy; prevention; containment; control measures; vitamin D; droplets; indoor and outdoor climate; post-lockdown period; recommendations; UAE; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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