COVID-19 Pandemic: The Influence of Culture and Lessons for Collaborative Activities.

The rapid epidemiological shift from an epidemic/outbreak in Wuhan, China, to a global pandemic of COVID-19 in less than 3 months came with lessons the world's health system should learn to prepare for the future outbreaks. Since February 20, 2020, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has been increased very slowly in the countries of East Asia, including Japan, South Korea, and China, when compared with those in the Western countries. This chapter begins with an overview of the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers and public health facilities, followed by immediate global actions and research in response to the newly emerged pandemic. It includes an evaluation of the potential influence of culture on the implementation of different protective measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic while at the same time offering suggestions that will make it easier for all populations to adapt protective steps against COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases. Finally, the chapter provides a detailed discussion of lessons we have learned from the pandemic, leading to the conclusion that the transition from individualism to collaborative efforts is the treatment of universal pandemics.

Lessons learned from the 2019-nCoV epidemic on prevention of future infectious diseases.

Only a month after the outbreak of pneumonia caused by 2019-nCoV, more than forty-thousand people were infected. This put enormous pressure on the Chinese government, medical healthcare provider, and the general public, but also made the international community deeply nervous. On the 25th day after the outbreak, the Chinese government implemented strict traffic restrictions on the area where the 2019-nCoV had originated-Hubei province, whose capital city is Wuhan. Ten days later, the rate of increase of cases in Hubei showed a significant difference (p = 0.0001) compared with the total rate of increase in other provinces of China. These preliminary data suggest the effectiveness of a traffic restriction policy for this pandemic thus far. At the same time, solid financial support and improved research ability, along with network communication technology, also greatly facilitated the application of epidemic prevention measures. These measures were motivated by the need to provide effective treatment of patients, and involved consultation with three major groups in policy formulation-public health experts, the government, and the general public. It was also aided by media and information technology, as well as international cooperation. This experience will provide China and other countries with valuable lessons for quickly coordinating and coping with future public health emergencies.