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Review
. 2021 Dec:1:12-19.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2021.09.003. Epub 2021 Sep 17.

Ten public health strategies to control the Covid-19 pandemic: the Saudi Experience

Areej AlFattani  1   2 , Amani AlMeharish  1 , Maliha Nasim  1 , Khalid AlQahtani  3 , Sami AlMudraa  4   2
Affiliations
Review

Ten public health strategies to control the Covid-19 pandemic: the Saudi Experience

Areej AlFattani et al. IJID Reg. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Saudi Arabia plays an important strategic role within the Middle East and afar because of its geographical location, and being the host of one of the largest annual religious mass gatherings in the world "The Hajj". During the recent coronavirus pandemic, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) developed a multisectoral plan that adopted multiple measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 transmission both domestically and internationally. In this article, we review all public health related policy decisions from the Saudi Ministry of Health, other government departments, and the private sector that contributed to limiting the severe consequences from Covid-19. Ten effective strategies are outlined and the challenges related to their implementation are explored. The strategies include: 1. Quarantine and travel restriction, 2. Expansion of serological screening, 3. Mask wearing (covering the face and nose) and social distancing, 4. Preparation of hospitals to deal with the influx of coronavirus cases, 5. Use of artificial intelligence, 6.Public assurance, 7.Removal of slum areas and re housing of its inhabitants, 8. Cancellation of the Hajj season, 9. Economic stimulus packages to safeguard the economy, and 10. fair and priority driven vaccine distribution. Conclusion: The government of Saudi Arabia demonstrated responsibility at the highest level to prioritize the safety and well-being of its citizens and residents. Rapid early response to the pandemic warnings, extensive experience in previous epidemics and in mass gathering medicine, wise management of healthcare resources, and unprecedented harmonization of governmental and private sectors were significant factors for this success.

Keywords: Covid_19; Pandemic; Saudi Arabia; control; experience; precautions; strategies.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1
Timeline of the government decisions and measures taken to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia as of September 2021.
Figure 2:
Figure 2
The Ten public health strategies of Saudi Arabia to control the COVID_19 pandemic successfully
Figure 3:
Figure 3
This is a measure of how well a country is flattening the epidemic curve at any point in time. It is a graphical illustration of an index (Ct)which is calculated as the change in growth rate divided by the magnitude of the growth rate, and then the whole multiplied by negative 1 so that positive values are “good” values meaning growth rates are declining at that point in time, and negative values are “bad”. It should rightly be thought of as an index of “suppression” rather than an index of “curve-flattening”. Retrieved from: https://drkhalid.shinyapps.io/COIVD19/ on 4 November 2020 @11:36
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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