TABLE 5.
Actions and policies of governments to contain COVID‐19
| Country | Other actions taken by the government |
|---|---|
| Austria | Tightened rules to contain spread of coronavirus, people were quarantined, and a fine of up to 30,000 Euros was levied for violating the rules (Gesley, 2020) |
| Brazil | Employees at the airport were asked to wear a mask. Borders were closed for flights from affected countries (CDCP, 2020) |
| Canada | All travellers were forced to self‐isolate for 14 days upon entry to control the outbreak (GC, 2020) |
| Chile | Screening at the airport was enhanced, and people with symptoms were isolated (U.S Embassy in Chile, 2020) |
| China | Transmission dynamics of SARS‐CoV‐2 in different settings was analysed, and eventually the country went for a lockdown to control the exponential outbreak (WHO, 2020c) |
| Czechia | Instructions were provided by Medicaid Service in all hospitals to protect kids, adults, and aged people from infection (Grafton, 2020) |
| Denmark | Testing and quarantining at an early stage itself (Carstensen, 2020b) |
| Ecuador | Maximized control by implementing innovative licensing strategies on products to fight COVID‐19 (Silverman, 2020) |
| France | Closed down borders and special employment forces were used to contain infections. Necessary precautions were taken for the localities as well (Barbière, 2020) |
| Germany | Employed a rigorous door‐to‐door testing procedure. The infected and suspected people were quarantined with special care leaving the mobility undisturbed (Sepkowitz, 2020) |
| Greece | Greece tightened measures, all new arrivals to be quarantined (Euractiv, 2020) |
| Iceland | Infected persons were immediately transferred to a special infection control section and were quarantined from their relatives and general public (Kyzer, 2020) |
| India | Tracked travellers from affected countries and quarantined them including family members in their own home (Diwanji, 2020) |
| Indonesia | Made public calls for people to self‐isolate if they have symptoms (Nyoman Sutarsa, 2020) |
| Iran | Followed strict social distancing and lockdown (Duddu, 2020) |
| Ireland | Invested in massive testing facilities. Treated all patients equally irrespective of their income strata. All hospitals operated on a not‐for‐profit basis (BBC, 2020 |
| Israel | Used technology to track the movement of infected individuals with their mobiles and quarantined the people who came in contact with the individual (Lomas, 2020) |
| Italy | Though Italy closed borders during the onset, lack of proper testing facilities caused a massive outbreak. This was followed by a strict lockdown (Gary, 2020) |
| Japan | Managed the outbreak with rules and excellent medical infrastructure (Japan, 2020) |
| Luxembourg | Quarantined people over 60 years to reduce casualties (Piscitelli, 2020) |
| Malaysia | Banned entry of people from infected countries followed by additional screening measures at the airport. Promoted personal hygiene eventually followed by a lockdown (Garda World, 2020a) |
| Netherlands | Travellers returning from affected countries were advised to visit doctors and medical facilities if symptoms were felt. Post outbreak, the country went under lockdown (Garda World, 2020b) |
| Norway | Travel bans and closure of schools, public services like gyms, malls, theatres, etc. (Norway Panorama, 2020) |
| Pakistan | Formed a team to monitor the situation and take necessary actions on a daily basis (Pakistan, 2020) |
| Portugal | Employed strict lockdown (Oliveira, 2020) |
| Qatar | Proper tracking and strict screening and testing of travellers (Master of Public Health, 2020) |
| Republic of Korea | Proactively built a centralized testing and quarantine facility before an outbreak in the country. China's reports triggered this action (Beaubien, 2020) |
| Romania | Lockdown and border closing (Gherasim, 2020) |
| Singapore | With previous experience from SARS pandemic, the country had a proper infrastructure facility with negative pressure room for pandemic control. Testing was done rigorously, and the infected were not let back into society. Migrants from other countries were not allowed to work until the pandemic was controlled (Fisher, 2020b) |
| Slovenia | Used innovative ways to spread COVID‐19 control messages before going into lockdown (Slovenija, 2020) |
| South Africa | Immediately restricted entry and exit to affected countries. Declared as a national disaster and went into lockdown to prevent a major outbreak (Fihlani, 2020) |
| Spain | Local movement controlled by social distancing. Travel to an affected country completely banned. Enhanced medical attention at arrival to control the spread (Kate Mayberry, 2020) |
| Switzerland | After closing school, colleges, and non‐essential businesses, the country used their military and civilian support to enhance infrastructure and healthcare needs to contain the infection (Keystone, 2020) |
| UK | People with symptoms were asked to self‐quarantine. Cancelled overseas travel and only tested people who were admitted. Followed social distancing, lockdown, isolation, and house quarantine. The country did not force people for testing (Yong, 2020) |
| USA | Enforced travel restrictions and implemented mandatory quarantine in New York. A level of screening and lockdown was implemented (Brittany Shammas et al., 2020) |
Abbreviations: COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome; SARS‐CoV‐2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.