Health Care Policies and COVID-19 Prevalence: Is There Any Association?

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected almost all countries and territories. As of December 6, 2020, the United States of America and India have the highest prevalence. Each country has implemented different strategies to control and reduce the spread of disease. Here, the association between prevalence number and health policies is evaluated by comparing 2 groups of countries: (1) Italy, the United States of America, Germany, Spain, and India with a higher prevalence than a linear trend line; and (2) Singapore and China with a lower or equal prevalence than linear forecasts. A rapid overview revealed that many countries have similar strategies for controlling COVID-19, including the suspension of air travel, the lockdown on the cities with the most cases detected, active case findings, monitoring of close contacts, and raising public awareness. Also, they used a gradual and phased plan to reopen activities. So, the difference between countries in the burden of COVID-19 can be attributable to the strict mode and nonstrict mode of implementation of strategies. Limitations at the national levels call for systemic rather than regional strategies.

COVID‐19 vaccinations: The unknowns, challenges, and hopes

“…7,8 It is worth mentioning, most countries have taken hygiene guidelines and travel restrictions as their primary strategy in curbing this pandemic; however, the effectiveness of this strategy depends on the governments' strictness of these rules and measures and the general public's adherence to them. 9,10 Consequently, the remaining potential player against this dilemma is herd immunity, defined as having 50%-85% of the population immunized either by being naturally infected with COVID-19 or by vaccination.…”

“…It is worth mentioning, most countries have taken hygiene guidelines and travel restrictions as their primary strategy in curbing this pandemic; however, the effectiveness of this strategy depends on the governments' strictness of these rules and measures and the general public's adherence to them. 9 , 10 …”

Neurosurgical service during COVID-19 pandemics in Ljubljana, Slovenia - lessons learned

“…Despite the difficulties the virus spread has caused to the health system, regular medicine had to work continuously and in parallel with the treatment of COVID-19 patients [13][14][15] . Therefore, the neurosurgical practice had to be organised according to new rules.…”

Management of neurosurgical patients during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemics: The Ljubljana, Slovenia experience

“…During the period of the epidemic, it was necessary to organise and adapt the neurosurgical practice according to new rules. Despite the difficulties the virus spread has caused to the health system, it was necessary to keep in mind that regular medicine needs to work continuously and in parallel with the treatment of COVID-19 patients[ 19 , 26 , 27 ]. The flow of patients to the health institutions is not reduced during the epidemic, it is rather increased, and the current virus pathology is intermingled with the everyday health problems, which also need to be addressed adequately and professionally.…”