Table 2.
Overview of the national governance of COVID-19 response, spring and summer 2020
| Czechia | Hungary | Poland | Slovakia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head of country emergency response | |||
| Prime Minister | Prime Minister | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| Authority for country emergency response | |||
| • Central Crises Staff led by the Minister of Interior (over the summer the response was led by the Governmental Committee for Health Risks) | • Operative Corps led by Minister of Interior and Minister of Human Capacities | • Government Crisis Management Team led by the Prime Minister | • Central Crisis Management Group led by Minister of Interior (in practice by the Prime Minister) |
| Head of health system response | |||
| Minister of Health | Minister of Human Capacities | Minister of Health | Minister of Health |
| Authority for health system emergency response | |||
| COVID-19 Central Management Team | COVID-19 Management Team at the Ministry of Human Capacities | Crisis Management Team at the Ministry of Health | Internal Crisis Management Group at the Ministry of Health |
| Representatives of authority for health system emergency response | |||
| • Ministries/ government: | • Ministry: | • Ministries/ government: | • Ministries/ government: |
| o Ministry of Health | • State Secretary for Health, State Secretary for Social Affairs | o Ministry of Defence | o All ministries |
| o Chief Public Health Officer | • Undersecretaries of State of the State Secretariat for Health | Ministry of the Interior | o Communication and crisis officers of ministries of health and interior affairs |
| o Ministry of Defence | • National agencies: | o Ministry of Foreign Affairs | o Self-governing regions |
| o Ministry of Interior | • National Chief Medical Officer / National Public Health Centre | o Special Forces Coordinator | • Experts: |
| o Government IT Commissioner | • National Healthcare Service Centre | • National agencies: | o Chief public health officer |
| o Regions’ Association | • Providers: | o National Institute of Public Health | o Representatives of health insurance companies |
| • National agencies: | • National Emergency Ambulance Service | o State Sanitary Inspectorate | o Chief expert for infectious diseases |
| o General Health Insurance Fund | • Directors of selected* hospitals | o Chief expert for epidemiology | |
| • Other: | Experts: | o Head of Slovak academy of science | |
| o Army | • Anaesthesiologist, artificial ventilation expert | ||
| o Police | |||
| o Fire service | |||
| COVID-19 scientific advisors | |||
| • Chief Public Health Officer | • National Chief Medical Officer and other experts of the National Public Health Center | • Team for COVID-19 strategic response planning at the Ministry of Health (est. in July), incl. representatives of the National Institute of Public Health, State Sanitary Inspectorate, Chief Statistical Office, national health technology assessment agency (AOTMiT), E-Health Centre | • Expert group chosen by the Prime Minister, incl. top experts on epidemiology, virology, infectiology and related areas |
| • Institute for Health Information and Statistics (subordinated to the Ministry of Health) | • Head of the Infectious Diseases Department of Southern Pest Centre Hospital | • Team for COVID-19 monitoring and forecasting (est. in September) | |
| • Ministry of Health's Laboratory Expert Committee (advising on testing matters) | • University researchers | ||
| • Economic team of the Central Crises Staff (advising on economic matters) | |||
| Pre-existing pandemic emergency legislation or plans | |||
| • 2011 Czech pandemic plan (mainly focusing on influenza) | • 2009 National pandemic response plan for pandemic influenza | • 2008 Infectious Diseases Act | • 2005 National pandemic plan for pandemic influenza |
Notes: * The National Korányi Institute of Tuberculosis and Pulmonology and the Southern Pest Centre Hospital, which were the two primary COVID-19 hospitals, treating all COVID-19 patients during the first wave.
Source: Authors based on COVID-19 HSRM.