Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Volume 96, Issue -, Pages 205-210Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.04.042
Keywords
COVID-19; Thailand; International communication; Mechanisms
Categories
Funding
- Thailand MOPH and US CDC Collaboration
- project of DGHP-iEOC (Capacity and workforce development to strengthen preparedness and emergency response operations across Thailand, Cambodia, Laos PDR, and Malaysia)
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Objectives: This study aimed to assess the Thailand Department of Disease Control's (DDC) early responses to COVID-19 in respect to communication with the international community and to identify the manner of Thailand's response during public health emergencies. Methods: Documents and international response communication from 4-31 January 2020 were reviewed and dates of responses were collected for descriptive analysis. A questionnaire was submitted to the DDC officers responsible for international coordination. A meeting to identify responses was held to evaluate the self-assessed capacities of the Department's international communication. Results: Thailand began the COVID-19 screening protocol on 3 January 2020. International correspondence subsequently occurred continually either through the ASEAN or International Health Regulations (IHR) mechanisms. The total score of communication for international response was 88.9%. For IHR reporting duties, the median duration to respond was 2.49 hours. Official news was sent within a mean of 9.18 hours and the English daily situation reports were always uploaded onto the official website within 24 hours. Conclusions: This study provided a benchmark for international coordination and communication capacities and also identified areas for improvement during public health emergencies, such as the need to identify English-speaking spokespeople to communicate at an international level. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.
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