Combating COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific: measures, lessons and the way forward

Governments in the Asia-Pacific region
are taking administrative and policy
actions to cope with the COVID-19
pandemic and its adverse impacts.
Most countries and territories have
adopted travel restrictions and social
distancing policies to slow the spread
of the disease. While many countries
have rolled out fiscal and monetary
stimulus packages, their scale and
policy focus differ depending on their
national circumstances,
implementation capacities and how
severely they have been affected by
COVID-19 disease. In going forward,
the region needs to invest in health
and social protection systems and
embed long-term sustainability into
stimulus packages and recovery
policies in order to strengthen
resilience to future shocks. Policy
coordination across countries is critical
to ensure that no one is left behind.