A number of government measures and interventions are implemented in response to viral outbreaks or declared global pandemics. To examine the impact government and non-government interventions and technological responses have on individual behaviour, epidemiology, and economic outcomes, we propose a conceptual framework that categorises government policy directives. This framework assigns a gradient indicating the severity or impact of the measure. In doing so we provide a measure that examines the effect of dominant policy initiatives on the outcomes. We demonstrate the value of the categorisation process using the interventions for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.