A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 became a global pandemic within weeks, as every country including small states and islands experienced a surge in cases. Small islands are known to face several challenges in the quest to curb the viral spread, but with the absence of land boarders and small population size, the...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:8755372 2023-05-15T16:47:18+02:00 A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta Cuschieri, Sarah Pallari, Elena Hatziyianni, Amalia Sigurvinsdottir, Rannveig Sigfusdottir, Inga Dora Sigurðardóttir, Árún Kristín 2022-01-03 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8755372/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34978569 https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab217 en eng Oxford University Press http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8755372/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34978569 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab217 © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved. https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_modelThis article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model) This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or until permissions are revoked in writing. Upon expiration of these permissions, PMC is granted a perpetual license to make this article available via PMC and Europe PMC, consistent with existing copyright protections. Eur J Public Health Original Manuscript Text 2022 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab217 2022-01-16T02:00:51Z BACKGROUND: COVID-19 became a global pandemic within weeks, as every country including small states and islands experienced a surge in cases. Small islands are known to face several challenges in the quest to curb the viral spread, but with the absence of land boarders and small population size, these factors should have played to their advantage to minimize the spread. The aim of this article was to compare and contrast the COVID-19 situation, restrictions, preparedness, management and the healthcare systems between the small population island states of Cyprus, Iceland and Malta. METHODS: Data were obtained from Ministry of Health websites and COVID dashboards of the three respective Island states in Europe. Comparisons were made between the reported cases, deaths, excess deaths, years of life lost, swabbing rates, restrictive measures, vaccination roll-out and healthcare system structures. RESULTS: Cyprus and Malta contained the COVID-19 spread better than Iceland during the first wave. However, a significantly higher viral spread and mortality rates were observed in Malta during the second waves. Similar healthcare preparedness and services, restrictions and relaxation measures were implemented across the three islands with some exceptions. Covid-19 vaccination has initiated across all Islands with Malta leading the vaccination roll-out. CONCLUSION: The small population size and island status proved to be an asset during the first wave of COVID-19, but different governance approaches led to a different COVID-19 outcomes, including high mortality rates during the transition phases and the subsequent waves. Text Iceland PubMed Central (PMC) European Journal of Public Health |
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Original Manuscript Cuschieri, Sarah Pallari, Elena Hatziyianni, Amalia Sigurvinsdottir, Rannveig Sigfusdottir, Inga Dora Sigurðardóttir, Árún Kristín A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta |
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Original Manuscript |
description |
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 became a global pandemic within weeks, as every country including small states and islands experienced a surge in cases. Small islands are known to face several challenges in the quest to curb the viral spread, but with the absence of land boarders and small population size, these factors should have played to their advantage to minimize the spread. The aim of this article was to compare and contrast the COVID-19 situation, restrictions, preparedness, management and the healthcare systems between the small population island states of Cyprus, Iceland and Malta. METHODS: Data were obtained from Ministry of Health websites and COVID dashboards of the three respective Island states in Europe. Comparisons were made between the reported cases, deaths, excess deaths, years of life lost, swabbing rates, restrictive measures, vaccination roll-out and healthcare system structures. RESULTS: Cyprus and Malta contained the COVID-19 spread better than Iceland during the first wave. However, a significantly higher viral spread and mortality rates were observed in Malta during the second waves. Similar healthcare preparedness and services, restrictions and relaxation measures were implemented across the three islands with some exceptions. Covid-19 vaccination has initiated across all Islands with Malta leading the vaccination roll-out. CONCLUSION: The small population size and island status proved to be an asset during the first wave of COVID-19, but different governance approaches led to a different COVID-19 outcomes, including high mortality rates during the transition phases and the subsequent waves. |
format |
Text |
author |
Cuschieri, Sarah Pallari, Elena Hatziyianni, Amalia Sigurvinsdottir, Rannveig Sigfusdottir, Inga Dora Sigurðardóttir, Árún Kristín |
author_facet |
Cuschieri, Sarah Pallari, Elena Hatziyianni, Amalia Sigurvinsdottir, Rannveig Sigfusdottir, Inga Dora Sigurðardóttir, Árún Kristín |
author_sort |
Cuschieri, Sarah |
title |
A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta |
title_short |
A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta |
title_full |
A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta |
title_fullStr |
A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta |
title_full_unstemmed |
A year of Covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small European island states—Cyprus, Iceland and Malta |
title_sort |
year of covid-19: experiences and lessons learnt by small european island states—cyprus, iceland and malta |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8755372/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34978569 https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab217 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Eur J Public Health |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8755372/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34978569 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab217 |
op_rights |
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved. https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_modelThis article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model) This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or until permissions are revoked in writing. Upon expiration of these permissions, PMC is granted a perpetual license to make this article available via PMC and Europe PMC, consistent with existing copyright protections. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab217 |
container_title |
European Journal of Public Health |
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1766037383650738176 |