The COVID-19 pandemic is unique due to the disease features and the unprecedented response by countries around the world. The unpredictable developments during the pandemic resulted in substantial impact to health and other sectors, and countries that had strong crisis and pandemic management systems generally performed well in reducing the impact. Some of the good practices that enabled effective preparedness and response include a whole-of-government approach, real time research, evidence-based decision making, international collaborations, well-executed ground operations, leveraging on technology, and effective communications. This presentation will discuss these good practices, and the lessons learnt from the pandemic that should be incorporated into future plans to enable countries to be able to respond flexibly to a future disease X.
