Table 4.

Summary of benefits, challenges, and trade-offs of each strategy

Strategy	Benefits	Challenges	Trade-offs
Aggressive containment	Lowest deaths per million. Quicker economic recovery.	Requires resources and infrastructure to build increased capacities in a short time.	Stringent mobility restrictions may increase unemployment and reduce access to social and health services. Restriction of civil liberties and raises concerns about privacy infringement when aggressive contact tracing measures are taken.
Suppression	Reduces covid-19 burden in the short term, thus avoiding overwhelming the health system.	Easing control measures before eliminating community transmission can lead to resurgence and excessive deaths. Recurrent public health interventions can cause fatigue, undermining the effectiveness of the interventions.	Stringent mobility restrictions may increase unemployment and reduce access to social and health services.
Mitigation	Preserves freedom of movement.	Older people are not completely protected from infection, so the health system can be overwhelmed, resulting in excessive deaths.	High death rates comparable to countries following the suppression strategy. But contrary to common belief, they also suffered from economic contraction and a slow recovery in the first year.