Did We Respond Quickly Enough? How Policy-Implementation Speed in Response to COVID-19 Affects the Number of Fatal Cases in Europe

The health crisis caused by COVID-19 reached Europe by February 2020, with remarkable differences in its potency by nation (ECDC, 2020). This effectively caused variation in mitigation efforts in European countries, in opposition to the World Health Organization's recommendations to a common response. Highly contrasting policies were implemented by neighboring countries, from "stay-at-home" requirements to very light restrictions. Furthermore, the application time of these measures was extremely variable across Europe. This study investigated whether the stringency of containment policies and the implementation speed of 24 European countries may have affected the number of COVID-19-associated casualties. The overall stringency (i.e., the containment measures in place) fluctuated over time and by country, which prohibited a clear association with the mortality rate. Importantly, the implementation speed of these containment measures in response to the coronavirus had a strong effect on the successful mitigation of fatalities. The results also suggest that early adopters of strategies are likely to return to normal life more rapidly. Based on these data, the implementation of containment measures at the very early stages of a future health crisis is highly recommended to reduce the negative impact on society and improve the speed of recovery.