COVID-19 State Quarantine Operation at a Local Setting: Implementation Evaluation
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Abstract
Purpose and objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) state quarantine implemented at the local border between Thailand and Myanmar in the aspects of the satisfactions of people involving the operation and new infected cases from the people attending the quarantine.
Intervention approach: A state quarantine in a local border of Thailand and Myanmar setting, which was a community intervention approach, was implemented.
Evaluation methods: A qualitative method was used to assess the effectiveness of the state quarantine operation. Selected participants were invited to provide information through in-depth interviews. Questionnaires were developed and tested for their validity before commencement of the interviews. Mobile phone and face-to-face interviews were conducted, which lasted 45 minutes each.
Results: Seventeen participants were interviewed. The attendees were highly satisfied with the infrastructure and process of the operation. The community where the quarantine facility was built needed essential information about the state quarantine operation. Two challenges were detected during the quarantine operation: public health officers who were insufficiently trained for working in the quarantine facility and some workers working in the quarantine facility were highly vulnerable to COVID-19.
Implications for public health: A state quarantine in the local area, particularly in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, is highly effective as confirmed by 55 participants who were free of COVID-19 after completing the 14-day quarantine period in the facility.
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