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Home > JOURNAL > Vol. 11 (2022) > Number 2

 

Abstract

The prevention and control of epidemics has become a major issue that needs to be grappled with urgently worldwide. The outbreak of COVID-19 and its subsequent global spread have caused a pandemic of unprecedented proportion and duration. The first author served as a volunteer in Wuhan during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. There was then much public criticism of the handling of the situation and poor response strategies adopted by the local government. This study discusses attempts by the Wuhan government to check the spread of the disease in the city and to examine the deliberation and co-ordination control mechanism that was established for the purpose. Various problems were encountered during the prevention governance process, and these were related to the inherent weaknesses in the deliberation and co-ordination mechanism. To understand the rationale and operating principles of the prevention and control mechanism, reference is made to relevant documents and also through interviews and close observation of events as they unfolded on a daily basis. The control mechanism was faced with various problems that called for proper strategies to improve its operation and management. An attempt is made to suggest ways to improve the co-ordination mechanism to promote seamless management and to provide insights for future prevention and control of epidemics in China.

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