COVID-19 Pandemic Cases and Deaths in Selected Regions: The Need for Policy Recommendations

Despite the indescribable adversity of COVID-19, which raised deaths in most regions, the pandemic came with a number of good lessons that affect certain value metrics (healthcare, education, productive capacity, and price control mechanisms). In this study, we examined the role played by COVID-19 pandemic cases/deaths in selected regions andthe need for policy recommendations. Using a mixed research approach, reported laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases/deaths between 12 and 17 March 2020 were obtained across six regions – Western Pacific, Europe, South East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, America and Africa. Qualitative results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic predominantly affected Western Pacific and European regions. Besides, an analysis of variance revealed an insignificant difference in reported laboratory-confirmed cases/deaths of COVID-19 across the regions during the studied period. These results are,in part, attributable to the homogeneity in the strategies adopted to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in these regions. Thus, there is a need to strengthen certain valuable metrics, particularly in the healthcare sector by means of upgrading medical equipment (for nations in lack) and recruiting more qualified healthcare workers in view of future events of any pandemic.