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Throughout history, pandemics have played a significant role in reshaping human civilizations through mortalities, morbidities, economic losses and other catastrophic consequences. The present COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to its knees resulting in overstretched healthcare systems, increased health inequalities and disruptions to people’s right to health including life-saving routine immunization programs across the world.

This is a commentary paper.

Immunization remains one of the most successful, safe, cost-effective and proven fundamental disease prevention measures in the history of public health. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has effectively thrown the world's immunization practices out of gear, depriving approximately 80 million infants, in rich and poor countries alike, at risk of triggering a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles and polio. It is estimated that each COVID-19 death averted by suspending immunization sessions in Africa could lead to 29-347 future deaths due to other diseases including measles, yellow fever, polio, meningitis, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

The value of implementing robust immunization policies cannot be underestimated. Risks associated with postponing immunization services and the fact that COVID-19 is now an integral part of human civilization have resulted in several countries making special efforts to continue their immunization services. However, critical precautionary measures are warranted to prevent COVID-19 among healthcare service providers, facilitators, caregivers and children during the immunization sessions.

The paper highlights the process-handling during the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in combating pandemic COVID-19 in Malaysia.

Malaysia first issued an EMCO following a cluster that involved a religious gathering. The EMCO was issued to lockdown the area, undertake screening, treat positive cases and quarantine their close contacts. Active case detection and mass sampling were the main activities involving the population in both zones.

One hundred ninety-three confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified from the total population of 2,599. Of these cases, 99.5% were Malaysians, 31.7% were aged >60 years and all four deaths (Case Fatality Rate, 2.1%) were elderly people with comorbidities. One hundred and one cases (52.3%) were asymptomatic, of which 77 (77%) were detected during mass sampling. The risk factors contributing to the outbreak were contacts that had attended the religious gathering, regular mosque congregants, wedding ceremony attendees and close household contacts. Malaysia implemented an effective measure in the form of the EMCO to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, where the last cases were reported 16 days before the EMCO was lifted.

The residents’ compliance and inter-agency cooperation were essential elements to the success of the EMCO. A targeted approach using an EMCO should be implemented in a future pandemic.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a swift perspective to JTF readers on the novel coronavirus outbreak that commenced in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and is currently ongoing. The study situates the current outbreak within prior pandemics and offers some directions for research and practice. Swift attention is needed to this event and the future of travel and tourism in a world where disease outbreaks and pandemics will become increasingly frequent due to increased travel and ease of access to destinations worldwide.

This paper draws from published academic research studies, as well as current media sources emerging, as the novel coronavirus situation is unfolding. In addition, the authors draw on the multidisciplinary expertise of the two authors (one based in tourism studies and the other an epidemiologist and public health expert).

This paper captures events on the novel coronavirus, as they are unfolding now, situates this in relation to the research literature on past pandemics like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Ebola and draws some important directions to guide research and practice.

This is a viewpoint paper and offers some emerging perspectives, issues and challenges arising in relation to the current novel coronavirus outbreak. This is situated more broadly in a large research literature that has been drawn on in a very succinct manner to ground this viewpoint. Future research will need to explore the larger literature.

This viewpoint offers the following valuable implications for practice at the local level and the regional/global level: countering misinformation and xenophobia through the communication of accurate facts related to the disease in question (the novel coronavirus in this case) is essential; close collaboration and cooperation between tourism stakeholders (including service providers and destination management organizations) and public health authorities; greater responsibility by residents and tourists to seek out correct scientific facts on the disease and take sensible precautions, as well as exercise care to those suffering the adverse impacts; and global coordination and attention to vulnerable destinations is needed more concretely (recommended in crisis management and recovery studies but not well implemented yet).

As noted above under practical implications, this viewpoint identified important social implications in terms of inequities and injustices that arise during disease outbreaks like the novel coronavirus and prior outbreaks like SARS and Ebola. These range from discrimination and racism as well as inequities related to managing the impacts on vulnerable destinations whose health facilities may be far from adequate to handle such outbreaks and the challenges of misinformation among visitors and residents that indirectly or directly affect the destination.

This viewpoint is being submitted as the novel coronavirus epidemic is unfolding, and it is hoped that sharing it speedily via an open access journal will assist in better managing the research of what will continue to be an increasing future challenge for destinations and societies in a world of mobilities and increasing travel forecast.

This paper attempts to theorise about China’s strategy in combating the coronavirus pandemic with an embryonic framework - 3H (Heart-Head-Hand) framework. By adopting a descriptive approach, the paper introduces the case of coronavirus outbreak in China and how the public health administration coped with it. The 3H framework has been applied to analyse China’s strategy, and the framework’s assumptions are initially tested.

The pandemic case is created based on credible reports, press releases from different respected sources, World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, interview transcripts and broadcasting stations’ video clippings. Interpretive analysis with pragmatism approach has been conducted in analysing the data and information collected. Triangulation, wherever possible, has been done to validate the data and information.

As an exploratory study, its findings show that 3H framework distinguishes the effectiveness of a country’s strategy and practice for combating the pandemic. Countries, which failed to observe the assumed principles of 3H domains tend to have much more infected cases and deaths.

The 3H framework conceptualised a holistic management approach and its assumptions have been initially tested with this pandemic case. The framework shows its predictability value for a country’s pandemic management effectiveness.

This paper aims to provide swift feedback to readers and investors on the early effect of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak on tourism industry.

Three leading consolidators of hotel accommodations, airline tickets and travel services in the tourism industry around the globe, namely, Booking Holdings Inc., Expedia Group and Trip.com Group Ltd. are chosen in this study. First, numerical description is performed on their shares prices and a set of control variables to compare their performances before and during the lockdown because of COVID-19 outbreak. Next, this paper estimates ordinary least squares models with and without exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic specification to establish the nature, significance and magnitude of the pandemic’s early effect on the shares performance of these online travel companies (OTCs).

This paper discovers a rapid decline in the performance of tourism industry amid the pandemic outbreak, from the perspective of three leading OTCs, which derive their profits from tourists by providing them online hotel reservation, air-ticketing and packaged-tour business services around the globe. These significant adverse direct and indirect effects testify that tourism-related businesses are extensively locked down by the pandemic outbreak.

Future studies are encouraged to examine each of the tourism sectors for individual effects.

This paper provides implications for investors to protect their wealth, and for policymakers to ensure sustainability of tourism industry in the pandemic outbreak and in the future.

From the perspective of corporate finance, this paper empirically quantifies the early effect of COVID-19 on tourism industry for a quick snapshot.

This paper examines the national solidarity in Brunei Darussalam during the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequential impact on younger generations. Utilising Emile Durkheim's solidarity theories, I examine how young people's social media use builds on state discourse in the pandemic. I contend that a shift towards an organic society is visible through a social cohesion that is based on differentiated roles. I argue that the citizenry plays a vital role in the forward momentum toward Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0, which illustrates that solidarity cannot be forged as a top-down directive. By prompting economic and creative divisions of labour, the local use of social media in a public health crisis has shown the government a new way to foster solidarity. Significant implications for youth as future leaders of the nation are discussed.

The crude oil market has experienced an unprecedented overreaction in the first half of the pandemic year 2020. This study aims to show the performance of the global crude oil market amid Covid-19 and spillover relations with other asset classes.

The authors employ various pandemic outbreak indicators to show the overreaction of the crude oil market due to Covid-19 infection. The analysis also presents market connectedness and spillover relations between the crude oil market and other asset classes.

One of the essential findings the authors report is that the crude oil market remains more responsive to pandemic fake news. The shock of the global pandemic panic index and pandemic sentiment index appears to be more promising. It has also been noticed that the energy trader's sentiment (OVX and OIV) was measured at a too high level within the Covid-19 outbreak. Volatility spillover analysis shows that crude oil and other market are closely connected, and the total connectedness index directs on average 35% contribution from spillover. During the initial growth of the infection, other macroeconomic and political events remained to favor the market. The second phase amidst the pandemic outbreak harms the global crude oil market. The authors find that infectious diseases increase investor panic and anxiety.

The crude oil investors' sentiment index OVX indicates fear and panic due to infectious diseases and lack of hedge funds to protect energy investments. The unparalleled overreaction of the investors gauged in OVX indicates market participants have paid an excessive put option (protection) premium over the contagious outbreak of the infectious disease.

The empirical model and result reported amid Covid-19 are novel in terms of employing a news-based index of the pandemic, which are based on the content analysis and text search using natural processing language with the aid of computer algorithms.

原油市場在流行病肆虐的2020年的頭半年經歷史無前例的過度反應。本文旨在顯示全球原油市場在2019冠狀病毒病流行期間的表現及原油市場與其它資產類別之溢出關係.

我們使用各種大流行病爆發的指標，來顯示原油市場因2019冠狀病毒病的感染而過度反應。我們的分析亦涉及市場的關聯性及原油市場與其它資產類別之溢出關係.

我們其中一個基本的發現是: 原油市場仍對大流行病的虛假新聞有更迅速的反應。全球大流行病恐慌性指數及大流行病情緒指數所帶來的震驚似乎是有希望的。大家亦察覺，能源交易商的情緒(OVX及OIV) 在2019冠狀病毒病爆發期間被測量為處於太高的水平。波動溢出分析顯示、原油與其它市場有密切的關係，而總關聯度指數引導平均35%來自溢出量的作用。在感染傳播初期，其它的宏觀經濟和政治事件仍對市場有利。在大流行病爆發期間的第二階段則損害全球原油市場。我們發現，傳染病會增加投資者的恐慌和焦慮.

原油投資者的情緒指數OVX顯示因傳染病及因缺乏對沖基金來保障能源投資而帶來的懼怕和恐慌。於OVX測算到的投資者空前的過度反應顯示市場參與者就這傳染病的感染爆發付出過量的賣權(保障)權利金.

我們的經驗模型和在2019冠狀病毒病肆虐期間匯報的研究結果，從使用以新聞為基礎的流行病指數的角度而言是新穎的。而這些全以內容分析和正文搜尋為基礎、使用自然語言處理，並輔以計算機算法.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a global humanitarian challenge. This scourge has impacted people from all walks of life as well as every economic sector and activity, from travel to automotives, hotels to banking, and supply chain to retail. The pandemic has affected not only physical and mental health but also financial health. Studies have examined the pandemic's economic impact, but very few have examined its impact on personal finances. Efforts to contain the pandemic's spread, such as lockdowns, have resulted in suspended business operations throughout the world that have intensified joblessness. To prepare and protect people from such unforeseen situations, financial education and planning are necessary. We attempt to expand the evidence on this issue by applying a structural equation modelling approach to identify the mediating role of financial literacy programs in preparing and protecting household wealth against sudden worldwide setbacks. The research design is descriptive and exploratory using snowball sampling technique. The data was collected through an internet survey. In total, 400 survey responses were obtained. After testing the measurement model for key validity dimensions, the hypothesised causal relationships are examined in several path models. The results indicated that coronavirus awareness exerts a direct or indirect influence on the financial health of individuals through financial literacy. We conclude that financial literacy has a full mediating effect on the personal finance of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings not only contributed to the need and understanding of financial literacy but also have managerial implications. Financial literacy programs provide investment advice and suggestions which are actionable and also work to help individuals to come out stronger in terms of knowledge and skill set when the COVID-19 crisis passes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of firm-, finance- and country-specific indicators to the performance of companies under the COVID-19 outbreak.

The study uses a regression performance model for enterprises during the COVID-19 crisis. The investigation is based upon a data set of 5,730 firms from 13 countries collected by the World Bank through enterprise surveys. The author combined the analysis of traditional performance measurements with the testing of relatively novel variables.

This study confirms the significance of multiple factors for company performance: sector, size, participation in exports and market demand for firms’ products. Robust financing solutions during the coronavirus pandemic period include equity contributions, followed by firms’ cash balances and debt. Support by a government, however, has not yet been confirmed as a significant source of finance. This paper also suggests the importance of country-specific factors for the performance of enterprises, including the level of economic development and the corporate governance infrastructure.

The research outcomes might assist regulatory bodies, policymakers and companies in their formulation of public and corporate governance strategies concerning future emergency preparedness and responses.

This paper is among the first empirical studies in the management realm that addresses the impact of COVID-19 on company performance, with cross-national empirical data.

The study sought to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism from the stakeholder perspective in the case of Famagusta town in Northern Cyprus.

Via a qualitative research approach, data are collected through face-to-face interviews from direct and indirect tourism stakeholders operating in Famagusta. A judgmental sampling strategy was employed to collect data from tourism stakeholders on the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism. Descriptive data analysis is engaged to report the results.

Results of the study showed that the novel coronavirus has hampered the tourism sector in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus. Indeed, as the globe suffered its effects in terms of economic gains, business and business closure. It has been the same with Famagusta, while a few private sectors positively gained (Internet and Technology), all other tourism-reliant sectors such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and the transport sector massively suffered as a result of the global lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the ever-changing state of knowledge and scarcity of literature, the current study seeks to summarize what has been learned from previous crises and back it up with qualitative research including senior industry stakeholders.