Table 2.
Governmental organization and relevant legislation to control infectious diseases, including COVID-19
| Country | Responsible governmental body | Applicable law(s), date of enforcement | Purposes of act | Presence of article/clause on protecting employees/workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Ministry of Law and Justice | Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 | To provides for the prevention of the spread of dangerous epidemic diseases. The Ordinance amends the Act to include protections for healthcare personnel combatting epidemic diseases and expands the expands the powers of the central government to prevent the spread of such diseases. | Yes∗ |
| Indonesia | Ministry of Health | Law on Health (Law No. Number 36/2009) (Oct 2009) | To maintain and increase the degree of public health as high as possible based on the nondiscriminative, participative, and sustainable principles in the framework of the formation of Indonesian human resources, as well as increasing the resilience and competitiveness of the nation for national development. | Yes |
| Japan | Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and Cabinet Secretariat | Act on Special Measures for Pandemic Influenza and New Infectious Diseases Preparedness and Response (February 2021) | To protect the lives and health of the people and minimize the impact on their lives and economy by strengthening measures against infectious diseases such as new influenza. | No |
| Malaysia | Malaysian National Security Council (Prime Ministers Department) & Ministry of Health | Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) | To govern the prevention and control transmission of infectious diseases. | No |
| New Zealand | Ministry of Health | COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 (May 2020) | To support a public health response to COVID-19 that prevents and limits the risk of COVID-19 and avoids or mitigates the adverse effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and is coordinated, orderly, and proportionate and allows for social, economic, and other factors to be taken into account and is economically sustainable and allows for recovery of MIQF costs and has enforceable measures. | Yes |
| Republic of the Philippines | Department of Health | Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act (July 2018) | To protect the people from public health threats through the disease surveillance of notifiable diseases including emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, diseases for elimination and eradication, epidemics, and health events including chemical, radionuclear, and environmental agents of public health concern and provide an effective response system. | No |
| Republic of Korea | Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Ministry of Health and Welfare | Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act (April 2020) | To contribute to improving and maintaining citizens' health by preventing the occurrence and epidemics of infectious diseases hazardous to citizens' health, and prescribing necessary matters for the prevention and control thereof. | Yes |
| Taiwan | Ministry of Health and Welfare | Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (April 2020) | To effectively prevent and control severe pneumonia with novel pathogens (COVID-19), protect the health of the people, and mitigate the impact of the disease on the domestic economy and society. | Yes |
| Thailand | Department of Diseases Control, Ministry of Public health | Communicable Disease Act B.E. 2558 (March 2016) | To prevent and control communicable diseases | No |
MIQF, managed isolation and quarantine facility.
∗
It prohibits acts of violence against health-care service personnel and damage to property.