An exploration of the political, social, economic and cultural factors affecting how different global regions initially reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic

Tang, Julian W.; Caniza, Miguela A.; Dinn, Mike; Dwyer, Dominic E.; Heraud, Jean-Michel; Jennings, Lance C.; Kok, Jen; Kwok, Kin On; Li, Yuguo; Loh, Tze Ping; Marr, Linsey C.; Nara, Eva Megumi; Perera, Nelun; Saito, Reiko; Santillan-Salas, Carlos; Sullivan, Sheena; Warner, Matt; Watanabe, Aripuanã; Zaidi, Sabeen Khurshid. 2022 An exploration of the political, social, economic and cultural factors affecting how different global regions initially reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic [in special issue: Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2] Interface Focus, 12 (2), 20210079. 31, pp. 10.1098/rsfs.2021.0079

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Text (Open Access) © 2022 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. rsfs.2021.0079.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

Responses to the early (February–July 2020) COVID-19 pandemic varied widely, globally. Reasons for this are multiple but likely relate to the healthcare and financial resources then available, and the degree of trust in, and economic support provided by, national governments. Cultural factors also affected how different populations reacted to the various pandemic restrictions, like masking, social distancing and self-isolation or self-quarantine. The degree of compliance with these measures depended on how much individuals valued their needs and liberties over those of their society. Thus, several themes may be relevant when comparing pandemic responses across different regions. East and Southeast Asian populations tended to be more collectivist and self-sacrificing, responding quickly to early signs of the pandemic and readily complied with most restrictions to control its spread. Australasian, Eastern European, Scandinavian, some Middle Eastern, African and South American countries also responded promptly by imposing restrictions of varying severity, due to concerns for their wider society, including for some, the fragility of their healthcare systems. Western European and North American countries, with well-resourced healthcare systems, initially reacted more slowly, partly in an effort to maintain their economies but also to delay imposing pandemic restrictions that limited the personal freedoms of their citizens.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1098/rsfs.2021.0079
ISSN:	2042-8901
Additional Keywords:	COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pandemic response, lockdown, government, guidance
NORA Subject Terms:	Health
Date made live:	15 Feb 2022 08:11 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531940

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