A Race of Strategies in Fighting Covid-19
The strategy to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 comprises testing, tracing, lockdowns and bans.
Commuters maintaining distance sit next to seats with stickers reading "Please don\'t sit here" and "Respect social distancing" as red spots on the ground indicate where to stand in an underground metro line in Milan, on April 28, 2020, during the country\'s lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus.
The strategy to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 comprises testing, tracing, lockdowns and bans. Countries have in general applied these strategies but each has employed a different unique situations and degrees of implementation. Consequently, countries are showing different results in the fight against Covid-19.
If countries compete with one another in their Covid-19 mitigation strategies, which will emerge as winner? More specifically, what political system has proven most effective in supporting the countries’ victory?
Such is a question socio-political theoreticians are trying to answer during this pandemic. These socio-political theoreticians include social and political scientists and philosophers.
Read also: Urbanites Learning Discipline for New Normal
Among the triggers for this discourse was a statement by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in February 2020. He said China’s strategy under Xi Jinping’s presidency had been effective in curbing the virus spread during the pandemic.
The statement triggered a wave of responses from democracy defenders, considering China’s global reputation as among the countries with poor respect for its own citizens’ freedoms. In the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, for instance, China is ranked 177th out of 180 countries and categorized as having the tendency to limit press freedom, alongside 23 other countries.
Other countries with press freedom violation reports during the pandemic were reported for three cases at most.
Furthermore, in Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) “Tracker 19” press freedom violation database, China had serious attention with a 12 collections of cases from 40 countries reported as of 28 April 2020. Other countries with press freedom violation reports during the pandemic were reported for three cases at most.
Therefore, the Chinese foreign minister’s statement was seen as a provocation to show that China’s system of government is the most prepared against the Covid-19 pandemic compared to other systems, such as democracy.
Read also:Understanding Economic Phenomenon during the COVID-19 Outbreak
East and West
Other than China, several other Asian countries have also gained praise for their success in curbing the pandemic, including South Korea and Taiwan. The difference is that both democracies are deemed to give more freedoms for their respective citizens. In the 2020 Press Freedom Index, South Korea is ranked 42nd while Taiwan 43rd out of 180 countries. Both countries are seen as acting transparently in imposing travel bans and strict quarantines as well as doing aggressive testing.
Therefore, the question is no longer what system of government is most superior in tackling the pandemic, but has shifted to what strategy is most successful against it.
Therefore, for analytical purposes, the polarization of world regions can be made, namely East and West. The East region comprises Asia, as represented by China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. The West region comprises Europe and the Americas, as represented by the US, Italy, the UK, Germany, Spain and France.
A COVID-19 coronavirus patient lies in bed at the Intensive Unit Care of the CEMTRO private clinic in Madrid on April 17, 2020. - Spain\'s death toll increased to nearly 19,500, government figures showed. The country reported 585 new fatalities in the past 24 hours, but said it had revised its counting mechanism, making the figures difficult to compare with previous tolls.
This piece will compare the strategies taken by each countries in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in their respective regions.
Strategy and evaluation
Countries’ strategies in fighting Covid-19 can be categorized in line with WHO guidelines into two major parts with different goals. First is the strategy to curb virus spread and second is the strategy to reduce deaths.
In the effort to curb virus spread, various existing strategies can be summarized into five keywords, namely tracing, testing, isolation, quarantine and social restrictions.
Meanwhile, strategies to reduce deaths include expanding medical service, creating more vital medical facilities and improving the capacity of medical workers.
These various strategies can be observed real time through the project created by the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, named the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT).
The OxCGRT compiles various strategies taken by various countries in facing Covid-19. OxCGRT researchers use 18 policy indicators as analysis tools, which can be categorized into four groups.
This combination photo shows pedestrians wearing different face protections against the coronavirus outbreak, all taken in the Southall area of London, Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Face protections and masks have become compulsory in many parts of Europe where the COVID-19 lockdown is being relaxed, but the UK remains in lockdown and each person has discretion to wear the personal protection giving rise to many inventive variations.
First is those related to bans and restrictions. Second is those related to economic response. Third is the medical service system and fourth is others.
A team of 109 professionals processes the data gathered as stringency index measured in a scale of 0 to 100.
As of 30 April 2020, the index was compiled with a basis of nine indicators, namely eight indicators of bans and restrictions and one indicator in healthcare (public information campaign). Other indicators, such as Covid-19 testing strategy and contact tracing, are reported as separate data.
Stringency index
Based on processed stringency scores, we can observe the stringency of countries’ strategies in imposing bans and restrictions during the pandemic, as well as public information campaigns on government strategies.
Among analyzed Western countries, namely the US, the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain, we found that Italy is the most stringent in imposing bans and restrictions during the pandemic. As of 30 April 2020, Italy’s bans and restrictions obtained a score of 94.3.
Read also: Key to being at Peace with Coronavirus
At second place is France with a stringency score of 92.4 on the same date. Next in stringency index is Spain (88.8), followed by the UK (80.9), Germany (70.9) and the US (70).
ON average since the first time policies were imposed, Italy remained the most stringent in bans and restrictions. Between 23 January and 30 April 2020, Italy’s average stringency score was 64.2.
This was followed by Spain with an average of 54.9 since it first imposed bans and restrictions on 31 January 2020. On-average stringency score for other Western countries as of 30 April 2020 were 53.9 for France (since 23 January 2020), 45.9 for Germany (since 24 January 2020), 44.6 for the UK (since 2 February 2020) and 41.9 for the US (since 2 February 2020).
Among Eastern countries, stringency scores are lower. As of 30 April 2020, Singapore had the highest stringency score at 86.7, followed by Vietnam (85.2), China (61.7), South Korea (57.4), Japan (56.2) and Taiwan (35.2).
As of 30 April 2020, Vietnam was the observed Eastern country with the most stringent bans and restrictions, with an average stringency score of 62.8 since 25 January 2020.
These scores will go even lower when put on average since bans and restrictions were imposed in each of the countries. As of 30 April 2020, Vietnam was the observed Eastern country with the most stringent bans and restrictions, with an average stringency score of 62.8 since 25 January 2020.
Next is China with an average stringency score of 62.4 since 20 January 2020. Average stringency scores of other observed Eastern countries as of 30 April 2020 were 59.9 for South Korea (since 31 January 2020), 39.7 for Singapore (since 2 January 2020), 34.7 for Japan (since 7 January 2020) and 29.1 for Taiwan (since 2 January 2020).
Testing and Contact Tracing
Other than the stringency index, the OxCGRT also collects data of testing and contact tracing carried out in various countries in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In analyzing Covid-19 testing strategies, the team categorized countries into four criteria with codes 0, 1, 2 and 3. Code 0 means no national-scale Covid-19 testing. Code 1 means testing is only imposed on citizens showing symptoms and working in certain sectors, such as medical and frontline workers.
Code 2 means that testing is imposed on citizens showing Covid-19 symptoms. Meanwhile, Code 3 means that testing is open for all citizens.
With these four criteria, no countries in the Eastern region belonged to the first and second criteria as of 30 April 2020. Singapore and Taiwan have Code 2, namely imposing tests on all citizens showing Covid-19 symptoms.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) visits a Seegene research facility, a Seoul-based developer of COVID-19 diagnostic solutions, in Seoul on March 25, 2020. - At one point South Korea was the country hardest-hit by the virus outside China, but widespread testing and quarantine efforts have seen new cases fall below 100 a day.
Meanwhile, China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam have Code 3 as their Covid-19 tests are open for all citizens.
In the West, no countries had Code 0 as of 30 April 2020. The UK, Germany, France and Spain have Code 1, namely that they impose Covid-19 testing for citizens showing symptoms and working in certain sectors, such as medical and front line workers. Italy has Code 2 while the US has Code 3.
Meanwhile, contact tracing strategy is analyzed using three criteria and three codes. Code 0 means no contact tracing strategy. Code 1 means contact tracing is done in limited fashion, not on all cases. Code 2 means contact tracing is done extensively on almost all cases.
Among observed Eastern countries, none has Code 0. Japan has Code 1 as it has limited contact tracing.
The other five countries, namely China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam, have Code 2, namely thorough contact tracing on almost all cases.
Measured on these three criteria for contact tracing strategy, the UK is the only observed Western country to have Code 0, namely no contact tracing strategy. The US, Germany, France and Spain have Code 1, namely limited contact tracing. Meanwhile, Italy has Code 2.
Based on stringency scores and criteria on testing and contact tracing strategies, we can observed the depth of intervention of these observed Eastern and Western countries on their respective citizens in the fight against Covid-19.
Muslims perform the Friday prayers inside the Masjid Al-Nabawi while practicing social distancing, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Madina, Saudi Arabia June 5, 2020.
East and West
Based on this explanation on stringency scores and testing and contact tracing strategies, we can see the general strategies chosen by certain countries in the East and the West,
Western countries are generally more stringent in implementing bans and restrictions, as shown in the West’s average stringency score of 82.9, compared to the East’s 63.73, as of 30 April 2020.
However, observed Eastern countries imposed more wide-ranging national testing compared to those in the West. Observed Eastern countries tend to impose nationwide testing not only on citizens showing symptoms but also to the general public.
Meanwhile, countries in the West tend to impose Covid-19 testing only on citizens showing symptoms and belonging to certain criteria. As of 30 May, the UK still has no nationwide testing policy.
Furthermore, as of 30 April, countries in the East tend to impose thorough contact tracing on almost all cases. On the contrary, countries in the West tend to impose limited contact tracing, not on all cases.
Therefore, as of 30 April 2020, observed countries in the East tend to use nationwide testing and tracing to curb COVID-19 spread. Meanwhile, countries in the West tend to impose bans and restrictions. With this general mapping, which strategy is deemed more effective to curb SARS-CoV-2 spread? (KOMPAS R&D)
Nurses put face shields on newborn babies, as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at the National Maternity Hospital in Hanoi on May 6, 2020.
