Division of Regulatory Innovation Research, Korea Institute of Public Administration, Seoul 03367, Korea.
Division of Disaster and Safety Research, Korea Institute of Public Administration, Seoul 03367, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Dec 30;18(1):217. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010217.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments swiftly decided to order nationwide lockdowns based on limited evidence that such extreme measures were effective in containing the epidemic. A growing concern is that governments were given little time to adopt effective and proportional interventions protecting citizens' lives while observing their freedom and rights. This paper examines the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in containing COVID-19, by conducting a linear regression over 108 countries, and the implication for human rights. The regression results are supported by evidence that shows the change in 10 selected countries' responding strategies and their effects as the confirmed cases increase. We found that school closures are effective in containing COVID-19 only when they are implemented along with complete contact tracing. Our findings imply that to contain COVID-19 effectively and minimize the risk of human rights abuses, governments should consider implementing prudently designed full contact tracing and school closure policies, among others. Minimizing the risk of human rights abuses should be a principle even when full contact tracing is implemented.
针对 COVID-19 大流行，许多政府根据有限的证据迅速决定下令全国封锁，这些证据表明此类极端措施在控制疫情方面是有效的。人们越来越担心的是，政府几乎没有时间采取有效和相称的干预措施，在保护公民生命的同时尊重他们的自由和权利。本文通过对 108 个国家进行线性回归，考察了非药物干预措施（NPIs）在控制 COVID-19 方面的有效性，并探讨了其对人权的影响。回归结果得到了以下证据的支持：10 个选定国家在确诊病例增加时改变应对策略及其效果。我们发现，只有在全面接触者追踪的情况下，学校停课才对控制 COVID-19 有效。我们的研究结果表明，为了有效地控制 COVID-19 并最大限度地减少侵犯人权的风险，政府应考虑审慎设计全面接触者追踪和学校停课等政策。即使实施全面接触者追踪，也应将减少侵犯人权的风险作为一项原则。
