In the United States (US), a returnee from Wuhan tested positive for COVID-19 on January 20^th. A surge in the number of patients was observed initially due to the delay in commencement of COVID-19 testing [6]. Many of the testing kits developed by the US were reported to be erroneous [7]. On January 29^th, the White House coronavirus taskforce was set up to organize and oversee efforts to contain and palliate the spread of coronavirus in the US. Two days later, a public health emergency was declared, which barred entry to foreign nationals who had visited COVID-19 affected nations (China, Iran, United Kingdom, Ireland, or the 26 European countries) in the past 2 weeks. US nationals returning home after travelling through COVID-19 affected countries had to undergo a compulsory health screening and be quarantined for a fortnight. Non-essential travel to COVID-19 affected nations was banned, yet a nationwide lockdown was not imposed. A national emergency was announced on March 13^th [8]. By April 11^th, all public events were cancelled and schools were closed (Figure 1).

On January 31^st, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in York, England, in an infected Chinese national. As soon as the case was confirmed, a public health information campaign that resembled a previous “Catch it, Bin it, Kill it” campaign was initiated, to educate the public on reducing the risk of spreading the virus [9]. Public Health England (PHE) was slow to enact action. Though most countries focused on “containment policy,” the UK was led by the scientists to believe in “herd immunity” and the control measures appeared not to be stringent enough. Schools were all shut down by March 20^th (Figure 1). The Coronavirus Act 2020 was enacted by government on March 19^th, which offered discretionary powers to the government in areas of schooling, health care organizations, border force, and courts. The UK was forced into lockdown on March 23^rd due to a drastic increase in the number of cases [9].

Australia reported its first case on January 25^th. On the 13^th February, the government barred entry of tourists arriving from mainland China, and advised returning residents to self-quarantine for a fortnight upon arrival, and warned that noncompliance would warrant a fine. On March 15^th the National Cabinet announced that gatherings of more than 500 people should be called off with exceptions for schools, universities, workplaces, and public transport [10]. An overseas travel ban was imposed on March 20^th (Figure 1) and cruise ships were barred from docking in ports. Owing to a lackadaisical approach towards COVID-19 management, cases began to rise in mid-March. Australia’s stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) wasn’t sufficient to meet the demands and later the country ran out of PPE. Initially, only people returning from overseas or those who had come in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case were tested. This proved insufficient, and they expanded their testing to the vulnerable, health care workers, anyone exhibiting mild symptoms of COVID-19 and even asymptomatic cases [10].

A human bio-security emergency was declared on March 18^th owing to the hazard to human health caused by COVID-19, and stringent measures were imposed with the shutting down of non-essential services, urging vulnerable people to stay indoors, social distancing rule of 4 square meters per person in an enclosed space (which was later modified to include only 2 people who could meet in public places). People were permitted to go outdoor to purchase essential items, for medical or humane needs, exercising (in line with the limitation of 2 people meeting in public), and for job or educational activities. A mobile application (app) “COVIDSafe” that uses Bluetooth technology was developed to show contact between people when they come within 1.5 meters of each other [11].

The index case for Canada’s COVID-19 epidemic was reported on January 27^th, in Toronto. A stringent border access ban was put in place and the Quarantine Act was invoked that warranted all persons (excluding essential workers) entering the country to self-isolate themselves for a fortnight, prohibited those with symptoms from using public transit, and barred self-isolation in settings where they may come in contact with vulnerable people [12]. Global Affairs Canada provided consular support to Canadians stranded in other countries affected by COVID-19 and numerous educational resources about coronavirus management were circulated amongst the public. International passenger flights were allowed to land only in 4 designated airports to ensure vigilant and coordinated screening of the passengers [13]. The government believed that broader testing was the key to reopening the country and thereby paced their testing capacity through an interim order. The Federal government activated their emergency operations center on January 15^th, and the Government's pandemic response was based on the Canadian pandemic influenza preparedness planning guidelines and the Federal/provincial/territorial public health response plan for biological events [14,15]. On March 12^th the government ordered the shutdown of schools (Figure 1), bars, restaurants, cinema halls, non-essential businesses, and public gatherings; community transmissions were reported by mid-March, which forced the country to declare a state of emergency (Figure 1) [13]. Canada, having a universal health care system, enabled the public health authorities to commandeer the hospital system. A smart-phone app that notifies the users if they have been in the proximity of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, will be launched in July [13].

Even before Thailand reported their initial COVID-19 case, passengers from China were screened at the airports. Thailand was the first country to report a COVID-19 case outside China. On January 8^th, a Chinese tourist who had flown from Wuhan to Bangkok (Thailand) was identified using thermal surveillance and tested positive for COVID-19, 4 days later [16]. Owing to the nation’s weaker economy, mass screening was not affordable and so contact tracing was initiated early. On January 23^rd, the government issued a decree barring all non-essential travel to China, and a curfew was imposed from 10 pm to 4 am. By mid-March all non-essential businesses were shut down along with schools, entertainment venues, and public gatherings were barred (Figure 1). On April 4^th international flights were denied entry into the country (Figure 1) except for those bringing Thai citizens from abroad. Travelers had to be quarantined for a fortnight in a government-managed setting. It was mandatory that every person entering a shop or restaurant scanned a quick response (QR) code using their phone, which later facilitated contact tracing as deemed by the situation. Thai administration employed village health workers who supervised people’s movements in and out of their villages, carried out domicile visits (to monitor people’s temperature, communicated health messages about COVID-19, and how to prevent it, and documented household health data), and conveyed data to the provincial health office and the central government. While the government declared a state of emergency, the fight against the pandemic was driven by public health authorities deploying a policy of prompting people to use face masks, hand sanitizers, practice social distancing, and staying at home. Visual and audio reminders were omnipresent in public places and shopping centers [17]. Culturally transmitted norms of personal hygiene, voluntary abidance to government recommendations, volunteers from hundreds of thousands of grass-root public health activists, and collaboration among the public health authorities, paved the way for their success at keeping COVID-19 transmission to a minimum [18]. By mid-June the country had resumed its normalcy, though preventive measures such as wearing a face mask, and social distancing were still being followed.

Sweden is a prominent country in Europe that marked a stable performance in human development and quality of life indices and ranked highly in the GHS top 10 index, with a population of nearly 10.3 million. The country registered its maiden COVID-19 case on January 31^st in a woman returned from Wuhan city, and the second positive case was reported nearly a month later.

On February 17^th, the government put a travel ban in place to Hubei province and advised against non-essential travel to grossly affected nations [19]. The public health agency of Sweden was entrusted to advise and monitor the action plan to contain virus spread. The primary aim was to curb the spread of COVID-19 to limit the demand on the health services, such that it didn’t overwhelm the country’s hospital capacity. General containment strategies were employed where social distancing was advised for vulnerable people especially the elderly, and people with respiratory illness were told to isolate. There was no nationwide lockdown in Sweden because the government was not eager to curb movement for their citizens. Secondary schools and universities were closed on March 17^th, however primary schools were exempted from shut down. On March 11^th the government passed a law banning gatherings of more than 500 people, and later reduced the number to a group of 50 people on March 27^th as the case numbers surged. Since early March 2020, the government held a daily press conference to empower the public with advice and recommendations to contain the virus spread, and by March 18^th an advisory travel ban was imposed within the country. Testing for COVID-19 started in January, however, the number of tests (per 100,000 population) conducted was lower than many other European countries, and was limited to those who were symptomatic or citizens returning from COVID-19 affected regions. The testing capacity was escalated gradually and peaked to 30,000 tests per week towards mid-May and contact tracing was optimized [19]. The public health agency was entrusted with full control over the COVID-19 response strategy (without much interference from government and political pressure) which made the Swedish response unique compared with other nations.

A 35-year-old Chinese woman tested positive for COVID-19 on January 20^th in South Korea [20]. Korea’s response was 4-pronged: test, track, trace, and treat. Testing was not limited to symptomatic patients or those from the afflicted regions, even asymptomatic people were tested. Owing to the high proportion of cashless transactions, phone ownership rates, and density of surveillance technology, health officials retraced patient’s movements using security camera footage, credit card records, and GPS data from their cars and cell phones [21]. A travel ban was imposed to affected countries, a partial lockdown in Daegu (the city which was affected the most), and shutdown of educational institutions were in place by February 19^th (Figure 1). Drive-through testing centers were functional by March 13^th. Soon after the virus was isolated in China, Korea Centers for Disease and Prevention (KCDC) produced testing kits (100,000 kits per day) and conducted 29,619 tests per million population (Figure 2). A local surveillance team called in twice a day to ensure the traced person remained isolated, and even people with mild or no symptoms were isolated [22]. Under the relevant acts of government, the ministry of health collected personal data of COVID-19 confirmed and possible patients. Face mask use was commonly observed by the public. Simultaneously, the country permitted the public a “right to know” the movements, conveyance means, and links of patients which in turn helped them to avoid hotspots of infection [23].

Finland reported their index case when a Chinese woman who traveled from Wuhan to Finland tested positive on January 29^th. At a time when other nations struggled to keep a steady supply of personal protective equipment, Finland had an enviable stockpile of medical supplies amassed during the Cold War era. While every other nation had not stockpiled supplies, Finland was prepared for the heightened demand for medical supplies, and this proved to be pivotal in the country's, response to COVID-19 [24]. The country limited its coronavirus testing capacity to the most vulnerable and health care personnel. A state of emergency was declared in the country on March 16^th, and various measures were imposed to slow down the spread of virus and protect at-risk groups under various acts of the country. This included shutting down schools (excluding early education), a ban on public gatherings and closing government-run public facilities (Figure 1). The border with neighboring nations was closed on March 19^th [25]. Test, trace, isolate, and treat, besides stepping up other prohibitory measures in a contained manner, were the strategies adopted by the nation [26].