COVID-19: The Impact of Public Health Interventions on the Outbreak: Public Health Perspective and Future Trends

Abstract

In March 2019, before the first confirmed cases in Turkey, a scientific advisory board was created to develop guidelines for disease control and preventive health care. Public health interventions and treatment protocols were implemented by the health authority and scientific advisory board with daily analyses obtained from the databases. Soon after, the pandemic management process intensified with the closure of schools and partial curfews. Despite the decline in the number of cases and deaths, the number of cases plateaued and did not decrease further with the effect of the normalization period. With the end of the summer, the increase in spending time indoors, and the gradual start of face-to-face education in schools, the number of new cases has significantly increased. Therefore, the strict implementation of public health interventions has been established. In this period, the health literacy level of the population and the perception of risk also affected their compliance with health protocols. Moreover, vaccine studies and the application of practices for COVID-19 were deemed essential to effectively contain the virus. In the coming months, it is necessary to implement vaccination programs along with good planning and communication strategy. It is important to have a multi-sectoral approach, considering the possible security, health, economic, social, psychological, political, and social effects of this epidemic and other future outbreaks. Furthermore, it is necessary to comply with individual measures and restrictions for the benefit of society.