China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and Management

Background: As we live in an interconnected globalized world, people and the diseases they carry can be easily transmitted to any place in a matter of hours. SARS-CoV-2 began like all new viruses with an ordinary moment when a cluster of patients admitted to a hospital with pneumonia turned out to h...

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Main Author: Nourah S. AlTakarli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Knowledge E 2020-05-01
Series:Dubai Medical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/508448
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author Nourah S. AlTakarli
author_facet Nourah S. AlTakarli
author_sort Nourah S. AlTakarli
collection DOAJ
description Background: As we live in an interconnected globalized world, people and the diseases they carry can be easily transmitted to any place in a matter of hours. SARS-CoV-2 began like all new viruses with an ordinary moment when a cluster of patients admitted to a hospital with pneumonia turned out to have a new strain of coronavirus. The virus’s high transmissibility made the epidemic in China turn into a global pandemic with an ongoing daily reporting of new cases and deaths. However, as fast as viruses spread, the detection of pandemics and taking early measures has become much easier due to the advancement of science in today’s world. The early responses and measures adopted by China, such as early reporting and situation monitoring, large-scale surveillance, and preparation of medical facilities and supplies, were all successful in reducing the epidemic in China generally and in the epicenter Wuhan specifically. The purpose of this review is to focus on the effectiveness of the measures taken by the Chinese government to stop COVID-19 spreading by comparing the country’s response to SARS and CO­VID-19 outbreaks, which will provide an example for the communities, health managers, and leaders of countries to follow on how to prepare, detect, and respond to potential outbreaks. Method: For this article, epidemic preparedness and management strategies under comparison were derived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) frameworks and guidelines. Other data related to COVID-19 and reported cases were taken from more than 25 official public health organization reports and relevant articles using various databases (e.g., Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct). Results: Working on developing resilient systems against infectious diseases should be one of the top priorities of any country. China embraced resilience in its battle against COVID-19 and proved its capability to cope with the outbreak crisis. Despite succeeding in altering the course of the outbreak, healthcare experts warned about possible epidemic recurrence and stressed the need for caution as the pandemic is still ongoing and most of the infected cases are presenting with only mild symptoms.
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spelling doaj-art-b06cb9d82f4b4abd9e8098dd682fa5a32024-12-02T00:25:29ZengKnowledge EDubai Medical Journal2571-726X2020-05-011610.1159/000508448508448China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and ManagementNourah S. AlTakarliBackground: As we live in an interconnected globalized world, people and the diseases they carry can be easily transmitted to any place in a matter of hours. SARS-CoV-2 began like all new viruses with an ordinary moment when a cluster of patients admitted to a hospital with pneumonia turned out to have a new strain of coronavirus. The virus’s high transmissibility made the epidemic in China turn into a global pandemic with an ongoing daily reporting of new cases and deaths. However, as fast as viruses spread, the detection of pandemics and taking early measures has become much easier due to the advancement of science in today’s world. The early responses and measures adopted by China, such as early reporting and situation monitoring, large-scale surveillance, and preparation of medical facilities and supplies, were all successful in reducing the epidemic in China generally and in the epicenter Wuhan specifically. The purpose of this review is to focus on the effectiveness of the measures taken by the Chinese government to stop COVID-19 spreading by comparing the country’s response to SARS and CO­VID-19 outbreaks, which will provide an example for the communities, health managers, and leaders of countries to follow on how to prepare, detect, and respond to potential outbreaks. Method: For this article, epidemic preparedness and management strategies under comparison were derived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) frameworks and guidelines. Other data related to COVID-19 and reported cases were taken from more than 25 official public health organization reports and relevant articles using various databases (e.g., Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct). Results: Working on developing resilient systems against infectious diseases should be one of the top priorities of any country. China embraced resilience in its battle against COVID-19 and proved its capability to cope with the outbreak crisis. Despite succeeding in altering the course of the outbreak, healthcare experts warned about possible epidemic recurrence and stressed the need for caution as the pandemic is still ongoing and most of the infected cases are presenting with only mild symptoms.https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/508448coronaviruscovid-19epidemic preparednessepidemic managementoutbreak response
spellingShingle Nourah S. AlTakarli
China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and Management
Dubai Medical Journal
coronavirus
covid-19
epidemic preparedness
epidemic management
outbreak response
title China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and Management
title_full China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and Management
title_fullStr China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and Management
title_full_unstemmed China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and Management
title_short China’s Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Model for Epidemic Preparedness and Management
title_sort china s response to the covid 19 outbreak a model for epidemic preparedness and management
topic coronavirus
covid-19
epidemic preparedness
epidemic management
outbreak response
url https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/508448
work_keys_str_mv AT nourahsaltakarli chinasresponsetothecovid19outbreakamodelforepidemicpreparednessandmanagement