As we start transitioning from Phase 1, which relied heavily on social distancing (lock-downs, etc.) as a means of fighting the covid-19 pandemic, and into Phase 2, a "gradual re-opening", which will need a lot more layers of response (phased out re-opening of different economic sub-sectors), its valuable to reflect on the lessons from the Early Response of some nations that excelled.
This article analyzes the key elements of the early response of three nations that has yielded the most success, in the 0 to 8-week time-frame, when the novel coronavirus was still gathering strength, invisible to most, and why the responses worked.
Why this analysis? It's clear now that most nations were badly caught-off guard as this stealthy pathogen emerged in Wuhan, China, somewhere between late November and mid-December 2019. Most, but not all nations. These three exemplar nations got ahead of the curve - the critical parts.
Some surprising, even striking facts have emerged through this exercise. For example -
** Taiwan officials started boarding planes & screening passengers inbound from Wuhan on December 31st, 2020, nearly 1 week before doctors and nurses attending to infected patients in China got sick, and the potential of the disease to cause a major outbreak was yet unknown.
What and How did they know?
What made them to act so fast?
What went right? Why? What are the learnings to operate during extreme uncertainty?
Discover now.