Publication date: May 27, 2026
To investigate the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on COVID-19 transmission in different pandemic stages across 12 Asian countries. This was an ecological study of publicly available data. This study used the Stringency Index from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) as a composite measure of implementation strictness of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Data were obtained from Our World in Data and OxCGRT (January 2021 to September 2022). 12 countries were included in the study: Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bahrain, Israel, Lebanon, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia. The instantaneous reproduction number (Rt). Rt is defined as the expected number of secondary infections occurring at time t, divided by the number of infected individuals, each scaled by their relative infectiousness at time t (an individual’s relative infectiousness is based on the generation interval and time). Three different pandemic development patterns were identified: Cluster 1 countries (marked by distinct fluctuation), Cluster 2 countries (characterised by smaller fluctuation) and Cluster 3 countries (featuring a peak between July and September). An increase in the Stringency Index was associated with a significant decrease in Rt during warmer seasons in both Cluster 1 and 2 (both p values
Open Access PDF
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Bahrain | Asia |
| July | Communicable Disease Control |
| Korea | COVID-19 |
| Pandemic | COVID-19 |
| Humans | |
| Pandemics | |
| Public health | |
| SARS-CoV-2 | |
| Vaccination |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | MESH | included |
| pathway | REACTOME | Reproduction |
| disease | MESH | secondary infections |
| disease | MESH | Communicable Disease |