No country is safe from a pandemic : insights into small countries’ COVID-19 experiences

Abstract

The end of 2019—beginning of 2020 imposed unprecedented stress on every country as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2) spread across the globe resulting in the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Every country, large and small, fell victim to this burden resulting in governments instituting various mitigation measures to curb the viral spread and protect their population. Small countries, defined as having 2 million or less inhabitants, are regularly overlooked in public health circles and considered featuring similar characteristics as larger countries but at a smaller scale. While this may be true for some aspects, small countries face unique challenges and advantages related to public health governance, healthcare services delivery and economic sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic is a great example to highlight these factors, while bringing forward lessons learnt that may be translated as crucial evidence for future pandemic preparedness. [Excerpt]