Initial impacts of global risk mitigation measures taken during the combatting of the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper presents an analysis of risk mitigation measures taken by countries around the world facing the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. This overview gathers lessons learnt, providing an update on the current knowledge for authorities, sectors and first responders on the effectiveness of said measures, and may allow enhanced prevention, preparedness and response for future outbreaks.

The paper reveals among others that:

• COVID-19 demonstrates the weaknesses of the current systems; the world was insufficiently prepared, scientific warnings were not picked up quickly enough, there were confusing messages and trust-building took too much time.
• Countries where the elderly live among the general population, impose more strict restrictive mitigation measures.
• Several restrictions have proven effective in slowing down the spread of COVID-19, but the highest effect is obtained by applying a combination of measures representing different aims.
• A clear and coordinated communication strategy on effective risk mitigation is crucial in building trust with the citizens in a quickly evolving situation, using all possible channels and combatting fake news.