Overview
Coronavirus pandemic has affected countries all over the world. The virus has caused massive damage mentally, socially, physically, and economically. Most of the world’s economy is yet to pick up after the many disruptions by the virus. Many countries implemented measures to minimize the spread of the virus, while others hardly put any precautions to curb the pandemic. Preparedness methods and plans are researched on their effectiveness to prevent the spread.
Similarly, some countries’ measures are closing borders, using face masks, vaccination, social distance, working from home, and closing down schools. The decisions were made mainly by the government at the federal level. The epidemiology of the different countries and the numbers have influenced positively or negatively policy-making decisions. The social, cultural, and political reasons have influenced the various measures of the other countries. The differences in the outbreak and spread in different countries are determined by how the different countries employ the policies.
Background information of Pakistan and China
Pakistan
Pakistan is located in the Southern part of Asia and is the world’s fifth populous country, with two hundred and twenty-five million people (IMF 2021). Coronavirus tends to hit hard in nations with a high population, and Pakistan is one, and COVID 19 has hit the country hard with more than seven thousand cases in a single day. The high number of daily cases has increased since the pandemic’s onset, with the country employing measures to minimize the spread. New restrictions are put in place to curb the virus’s recent and fast-spreading omicron variant. Recently, the positivity ratio has been high, 12.93 percent being the highest in the last two years (IMF 2021).
The virus spreads fast in the country’s largest city, Karachi. The rising disease trend has led the government to authorize booster vaccination doses for people above thirty years. The citizens of Pakistan have received vaccines due to increased hospitalization cases.
China
China is located in the Eastern part of Asia and has a higher population than Pakistan, about 1.4 billion, making it the most populous nation globally (IMF 2021). The country has the best modern and advanced technology, making it one of the most powerful nations economically. Similarly, due to current technology use, the government is a prominent manufacturer and exporter to other nations.
Coronavirus originated from China, where there was confirmation of the first cases. The virus spreads very quickly to other parts of the world, making it one of the most significant and most severe pandemics in history. The virus is transmitted from seafood to humans, although the origin is yet unclear. In China, coronavirus cases are still rising with more records on the spread of the virus. The country has recorded over one hundred and fifty-two thousand cases and five thousand, seven hundred death cases in the last week. People still getting vaccinated, with over three billion people are vaccinated.
Evaluation and Motivation of Major Policies
Pakistan
Pakistan is a major hotspot for coronavirus due to the high population that the country has. The government is also struggling with health care systems. Additionally, to curb the spread of the virus, the different shareholders in the country have put measures and policies to ensure safety for everyone. People had mixed feeling on the news about corona. Failure of individuals to uphold the guidelines is a factor that increases the spread of the catastrophe.
One of the immediate measures that the country put in place was finding ways to improve the emergency centers to detect COVID 19. Understanding the history of the spread of the virus and various routes taken was used to identify the personal contact that infected people have had with other individuals. Through this measure of determining the connections made, the government was able to identify the areas of communication and put the communities under lockdown to prevent further infection. Similarly, individuals with traveling histories, especially internationally and in the countries that reported the cases, were also put under quarantine so that the health care system could monitor them closely. A study conducted by (Kretzschmar et,.al 2020) on the use of mobile phone applications for contact tracing measures shows that most countries in the world have employed the application. The action is effective and essential for fighting the transmission of the coronavirus. However, data security, usage, and privacy need to be updated to prevent cybercrimes.
Another policy used by Pakistan is the policy of containment. After tracing the contacts, the government had to control boundaries since many citizens traveled in and out. Furthermore, putting people traveling in quarantine houses built at the traveling areas before interacting increases the spread. The measure is effective because the government can control the people’s contact and make sure they have not contracted the disease before moving out to the community.
Additionally, another control measure is the mandated wearing of masks, sanitization, and social distancing for all individuals while in the public areas. Individuals were to avoid crowded places and keep a distance of two meters. Similarly, individuals were to sanitize after touching surfaces because the virus stays on surfaces. When people feel their nose, mouth, or eyes after touching the surfaces and not sanitizing are likely to be infected with the virus, although the risk of infection from the surface is minimal. A study on how wearing face masks impedes virus transmission is effective; the government ensures mandatory masks (Howard et al. 2021).
China policies
China, the country that reported the first case of the coronavirus, had helped the world interest on the COVID control in finding a way to contain the pandemic. One policy that the country has employed is on the use of quarantine to control the pandemic. After diagnosis, all individuals suspected of contracting the virus, people showing asymptomatic cases, or after close contact with infected individuals were put under quarantine by the government. Like Pakistan, China ensured a follow-up after quarantine to keep information on the virus’s progress. Quarantine measure was effective in both countries in controlling the spread of the catastrophe. However, lockdown affected Pakistan since it is economically poor, with most people living in poverty.
Additionally, China employed masks in public areas for all individuals except people living in very remote places since the spread is minimal. People used masks for personal protection. The country’s health sector formed and planned programs on health education to educate the public on the use of shows and self-protection. Creating awareness on the usage of face masks helps people learn to be aware of the different ways to use the policy safely (Aktar et al. 2021).
Similarly, the health sector used a lockdown policy on certain cities like Wuhan City and people confined in their households. The policy was a way to minimize traffic in the densely populated areas and ensure not many social interactions. The families were to send only one person to get their daily necessities after either two or three days. The method was to cut the transmission routes in the society through community management’s closure. In addition, individuals were not even allowed to send one person to some places because the government supplied the household with necessities themselves. The government denied all interactions, such as working and going to school.
Comparing each country’s policies shows that China was stringent in controlling the pandemic, Pakistan is an underdeveloped country, and the pandemic negatively affected the nation. The country’s health systems are not well developed; the coronavirus spread fast, affecting all operations in the country. Many of the cities in Pakistan did not use the lockdown measure, with only a few towns adhering to it. The failure to lock all towns has led to more virus transmission. In contrast, China’s lockdown policy effectively impeded the spread of the disease hence the divergence in the two countries.
Epidemiology of Pakistan
The first coronavirus cases were in Karachi, the country’s largest city (IMF 2021). The country is densely populated, with an estimated population of 204 billion. The high population puts the nation at risk of the coronavirus spreading fast (Ahmad et al. 2020). The country experiences poor economic growth with underdeveloped health care systems, making curbing an outbreak difficult. The government has a huge responsibility to protect its citizens while constraining the spread. Controlling the vast population is complex, and the citizens have mixed reactions to the various policies to stop the outbreak.
The government and healthcare sectors are affected in implementing various measures because of the spread of propaganda concerning the outbreak. Through social media, people shared concerning the performance of the government. Additionally, Pakistan’s high population influences the policies’ effectiveness, making it difficult to minimize transmission. The numbers affect the policies negatively due to inadequate resources, poor political will, and poor assessments of the effectiveness of the measures. The coronavirus confirmed cases are increasing rapidly,
Epidemiology of China
The first confirmed coronavirus case happened in China (IMF 2021). China has held the interests of nations to control the pandemic. The first case occurred specifically at Wuhan City after consuming seafood, with bats as the original hosts. Epidemiological surveys have shown that the people that visited the market experienced the symptoms of the virus. The high population in the city caused the high transmission rates of the disease, with an increased number of confirmed cases and deaths (Team 2020). The treatment guidelines of the virus are through active prevention of the infection, especially for severe cases. The increased number of cases caused the government to initiate policies such as lockdown, mandate masks, sanitization, and quarantine measures which have positively impacted transmission control.
Cultural, Social and Political challenges in Pakistan and china
The country has rapid population growth, which affects the different policies. The high population led to the government employing different approaches to impede the spread of the virus. In comparison, the people of China are, and the country government uses an authoritarian leadership style, which suppresses the people’s voice. The political challenge results in the increased spread of the virus when people are adamant about abiding by the policies to minimize space. Both countries have diverse cultures, which impact how to apply the policies without resistance from people of the various cultures.
The health care system is a social problem faced in Pakistan due to poor services and scarce resources. Poverty affects how people adhere to policies. For example, people who cannot afford masks and sanitizers are at high risk of being infected by the virus. China faces a poor and weak legal system that favors specific interests. Additionally, the country, China, faces geographical challenges such as drought that affect the effectiveness of the policies. Pakistan also faces natural disaster and border challenges.
Conclusion
The governments should control the population growth in most countries due to scarce resources. The governments in leadership across the globe should ensure that there are emergency funds put aside to cater to pandemics and crises. Most countries were struck hard by the catastrophe due to poor health care systems and the unavailability of advanced technology for individuals with severe conditions. Preparedness, improvements, and more research should be made by the appropriate on the various foods consumed by people, especially animal products. More research is crucial to prepare for outbreaks and disasters with the changing climate and evolving world.
References
Akhtar, Hashaam, Maham Afridi, Samar Akhtar, Hamaad Ahmad, Sabahat Ali, Sundas Khalid, Sajid Mahmood Awan, Shahzaib Jahangiri, and Yousef Saleh Khader. “Pakistan’s Response to COVID-19: Overcoming National and International Hypes to Fight the Pandemic.” JMIR Public Health and Surveillance 7, no. 5 (2021): e28517.https://publichealth.jmir.org/2021/5/e28517/
Ahmad, Mehmood, Bilal Mahmood Beg, Arfa Majeed, Sadaf Areej, Saleha Riffat, Muhammad Adil Rasheed, Samina Mahmood, Rana Muhammad Zahid Mushtaq, and Mian Abdul Hafeez. “Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of covid-19: A retrospective multi-center study in pakistan.” Frontiers in Public Health 9 (2021): 342.View at frontiersin.org
Howard, Jeremy, Austin Huang, Zhiyuan Li, Zeynep Tufekci, Vladimir Zdimal, Helene-Maran der Westhuizen, Arne von Delft et al. “An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 4 (2021).View at pnas.org
IMF. 2021. “Policy Responses to COVID19.” IMF. 2021.IMF. 2021. “Policy Responses to COVID19.” IMF. 2021.
Kretzschmar, Mirjam E., Ganna Rozhnova, Martin CJ Bootsma, Michiel van Boven, Janneke HHM van de Wijgert, and Marc JM Bonten. “Impact of delays on effectiveness of contact tracing strategies for COVID-19: a modelling study.” The Lancet Public Health 5, no. 8 (2020): e452-e459.View at sciencedirect.com
Team, Epidemiology. “The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19)—China, 2020.” China CDC weekly 2, no. 8 (2020): 113.View at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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