Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of the SARS Imprint

We provide evidence of delayed attention and inaction in response to COVID19 in countries that did not experience SARS in 2003. Using cross-country data, we find that individuals in countries that had SARS infections in 2003 searched more intensively for COVID-19-related information on Google in late January 2020, the time of the first known outbreak in Wuhan, China. Early attention to the novel virus, as measured by Google searches, is associated with deeper stock market drops in countries with SARS experience. In contrast, people in countries without SARS experience started to pay more attention much later, in March. Moreover, governments in these countries responded significantly more slowly in implementing social distancing policies to combat domestic COVID-19 outbreaks than governments in countries with SARS experience. Moreover, such early responses of individuals and governments in countries with SARS experience are prevalent within continent, even in non-Asian countries. Furthermore, people in countries with SARS experience are more compliant with social distancing rules. These timely attention and proactive responses of individuals and governments are more pronounced in countries that reported deaths caused by SARS, which left deeper imprints. Our find-ings suggest that the imprint of similar viruses' experience is a fundamental mechanism underlying timely responses to COVID-19.

Automated summary

Countries that experienced the SARS epidemic in 2003 showed earlier attention and proactive response to the COVID-19 outbreak, with individuals searching for information and governments implementing social distancing policies sooner. In contrast, countries without SARS experience demonstrated delayed attention and slower government responses to the pandemic.