Analysis: Covid-19 Response by Country
Here is an analysis done by our social media analyst Prihesh Ratnayake on the responses by 113 countries to the COVID 19 pandemic.
There have been many analyses produced on the Coronavirus Outbreak and the global response to the pandemic. Our intentionality is to conduct an analysis based on the data available on the response by states to COVID 19. It is an analysis based on data and you can read our methodology below.
As of the 21st of April 2020, Greenland** stands at the top of the rankings while San Marino sits at the bottom. Sri Lanka currently ranks in the 35th position among the countries analysed.
See rankings here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10Bzw4eqbFGMfbzfG2Lmv8hprSZG1RaGhCisNgoI8DMc/edit?usp=sharing
Methodology for Calculating the Response by Country
For this calculation the following figures are used.
- Cases per 1 Million Population
- Case Fatality Rate
- Recovery Rate
- Tests done per 1 Million Population
- Cases identified per tests done
First Assumption–
If a country has a low prevalence of Covid-19 cases in proportion to its population, then such a country can be deemed to have taken good steps to minimise the entrance of the Virus to the country or has taken effective measures to stop the spread of the Virus. The Cases per Population figure is a good indication of community infections within a country. So a negative weighted score is given to a country based on cases per 1 million people in the population.
Second Assumption-
If the Case Fatality Rate of a country is high then it can be assumed that such a country has no proper healthcare system which covers all of its citizens and/or that the present healthcare system has not adequately dealt with the outbreak or have not been equipped well to handle such a situation. Therefore a negative weighted score has been given to a country based on their case fatality rate.
Third Assumption-
If the Recovery Rate of a country is high that is a good indicator of how well the country has managed the situation and/or how effectively the healthcare system of a country has responded to the outbreak of COVID-19. A positive weighted score is assigned to a country based on the recovery rate.
Fourth Assumption-
The number of tests being carried out per 1 million people in the population of the country is a good indicator to see how well a country is dealing with the outbreak and/or a country’s effort to ensure the safety of its citizens. However the tests per population is positively weighted relative to cases per tests ratio. This is done to justify low testing in a country with a low number of cases to test and a low number of cases as a proportion of the population.
The Top 10
The top 10 countries include a surprising mix. High Income countries such as Greenland, South Korea, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Austria and Hong Kong take up most of the top positions. However, Vietnam a Lower Middle Income Country as per World Bank ratings is ranked at No. 2 while Upper Middle Income Countries Mauritius and Thailand have also positioned themselves among the top 10.
The Bottom 10
The bottom 10 interestingly comprises all high income countries based on the World Bank Ratings with San Marino ranked with the worst response of the countries evaluated ranking at 113.
Where is Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka finds itself in an upper middle position ranking at 35th in the world. Most of the countries in similar ranks are lower and upper middle income countries with the exception of Croatia, a high income state ranked at 33rd position.
We hope to bring further analyses and updated information on how the world is responding to the COVID 19 pandemic.
*The analysis also includes protected and autonomous territories
** Greenland is used here as a benchmark since it is the only country to have no active patients having successfully recovered all the infected patients.
