Rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Vietnam government's experience and preliminary success.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit all corners of the world, challenging governments to act promptly in controlling the spread of the pandemic. Due to limited resources and inferior technological capacities, developing countries including Vietnam have faced many challenges in combating the pandemic. Since the first cases were detected on 23 January 2020, Vietnam has undergone a 3-month fierce battle to control the outbreak with stringent measures from the government to mitigate the adverse impacts. In this study, we aim to give insights into the Vietnamese government's progress during the first three months of the outbreak. Additionally, we relatively compare Vietnam's response with that of other Southeast Asia countries to deliver a clear and comprehensive view on disease control strategies. METHODS: The data on the number of COVID-19 confirmed and recovered cases in Vietnam was obtained from the Dashboard for COVID-19 statistics of the Ministry of Health (https://ncov.vncdc.gov.vn/). The review on Vietnam's country-level responses was conducted by searching for relevant government documents issued on the online database 'Vietnam Laws Repository' (https://thuvienphapluat.vn/en/index.aspx), with the grey literature on Google and relevant official websites. A stringency index of government policies and the countries' respective numbers of confirmed cases of nine Southeast Asian countries were adapted from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/research-projects/coronavirus-government-response-tracker). All data was updated as of 24 April 2020. RESULTS: Preliminary positive results have been achieved given that the nation confirmed no new community-transmitted cases since 16 April and zero COVID-19 - related deaths throughout the 3-month pandemic period. To date, the pandemic has been successfully controlled thanks to the Vietnamese government's prompt, proactive and decisive responses including mobilization of the health care systems, security forces, economic policies, along with a creative and effective communication campaign corresponding with crucial milestones of the epidemic's progression. CONCLUSIONS: Vietnam could be one of the role models in pandemic control for low-resource settings. As the pandemic is still ongoing in an unpredictable trajectory, disease control measures should continue to be put in place in the foreseeable short term.

[Safe management of COVID-19 dead bodies in sub-Saharan Africa: could families be allowed to bury their dead?] / Gestion sécurisée des dépouilles de personnes décédées de la COVID-19 en Afrique sub-Saharienne: et si on laissait les familles enterrer leurs morts?

Sub-Saharan African countries have been hit by the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) since March 2020. Besides the resulting health and economic disasters is the psycho-socio-cultural problem related with the management of corpses of people dead from the disease, which might hinder the implementation of the response strategy. In Cameroon for instance, the current corpse management policy is very disputed. In fact, although they were recently made more flexible, the restrictions applied to burials still ban any transfer of dead bodies between cities. In light of the African cultural considerations of dead persons, the disputes observed between the families and the health personnel, the legislation and the available scientific evidence, this article analyses the risks and benefits of allowing families to bury their relatives. It thereafter suggests solutions that reconcile dignity (by allowing families to bury their dead relatives in their homes) and safety (by ensuring a sealed handling and the surveillance by a judiciary police officer). Applying these solutions could improve the population's trust towards the health system, and positively contribute to COVID-19 case prevention, identification and management.

Transmission patterns of COVID-19 in the mainland of China and the efficacy of different control strategies: a data- and model-driven study.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has seriously endangered the health and lives of Chinese people. In this study, we predicted the COVID-19 epidemic trend and estimated the efficacy of several intervention strategies in the mainland of China. METHODS: According to the COVID-19 epidemic status, we constructed a compartmental model. Based on reported data from the National Health Commission of People's Republic of China during January 10-February 17, 2020, we estimated the model parameters. We then predicted the epidemic trend and transmission risk of COVID-19. Using a sensitivity analysis method, we estimated the efficacy of several intervention strategies. RESULTS: The cumulative number of confirmed cases in the mainland of China will be 86 763 (95% CI: 86 067-87 460) on May 2, 2020. Up until March 15, 2020, the case fatality rate increased to 6.42% (95% CI: 6.16-6.68%). On February 23, 2020, the existing confirmed cases reached its peak, with 60 890 cases (95% CI: 60 350-61 431). On January 23, 2020, the effective reproduction number was 2.620 (95% CI: 2.567-2.676) and had dropped below 1.0 since February 5, 2020. Due to governmental intervention, the total number of confirmed cases was reduced by 99.85% on May 2, 2020. Had the isolation been relaxed from February 24, 2020, there might have been a second peak of infection. However, relaxing the isolation after March 16, 2020 greatly reduced the number of existing confirmed cases and deaths. The total number of confirmed cases and deaths would increase by 8.72 and 9.44%, respectively, due to a 1-day delayed diagnosis in non-isolated infected patients. Moreover, if the coverage of close contact tracing was increased to 100%, the cumulative number of confirmed cases would be decreased by 88.26% on May 2, 2020. CONCLUSIONS: The quarantine measures adopted by the Chinese government since January 23, 2020 were necessary and effective. Postponing the relaxation of isolation, early diagnosis, patient isolation, broad close-contact tracing, and strict monitoring of infected persons could effectively control the COVID-19 epidemic. April 1, 2020 would be a reasonable date to lift quarantine in Hubei and Wuhan.

Is Covid-19 sowing the seeds for future litigation?

We consider various types of litigation that may follow the Covid-19 pandemic, including: claims against National Health Service (NHS) Trusts by patients who have contracted the coronavirus (or by their bereaved families), claims by NHS staff against their employer for a failure to provide any or adequate personal protective equipment or testing, commercial claims arising from the procurement of medical supplies, the potential liabilities to those who suffer adverse reactions to any vaccine and the guidance issued by the regulators in relation to subsequent disciplinary action.