As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, policy makers around the world have been faced with some tough decisions in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. The Stringency Index, the world’s first COVID-19 government response tracker, was launched by the Oxford University on 26 March 2020 and it tracks and compares policy responses of governments to the pandemic crisis.

The Stringency Index was launched with data collected on 73 countries and collects publicly available information on 11 indicators namely:

• school closure;
• workplace closures;
• public event cancellation;
• public transport closure;
• public information campaigns;
• restriction on internal movement;
• international travel controls;
• fiscal measures;
• monetary measures;
• emergency investment in healthcare;
• investment in vaccines.

The Mauritian Government’s close monitoring of the situation and its pro-active responses to the pandemic have largely contributed towards its perfect score of “100" alongside New Zealand – although the index is not intended to assess the effectiveness of these measures, it remains an important tool in understanding government’s response and the effectiveness of its measures.

Click Here to access the press release of the Oxford University.

Stay tuned for more COVID-19 updates for Mauritius.