Further Comments on the Effect of Precautionary Measures in Containing the Spread of Covid-19 [Response to Letter]

Dear editor

I would like to extend my gratitude to the editor for giving me the opportunity to respond to this interesting letter. I would also like to thank the authors for their insightful appraisal of the study at hand.

The study is attempt by the author to assess the expected number of cases in Saudi Arabia if precautionary measures were not implemented at an early stage. Therefore, the results concluded that the peak would be much higher if these measures were not implemented. Thankfully, the number of cases of Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia was contained throughout the pandemic.

The (R₀) used in the study is derived from international sources, references mentioned. The most commonly found (R₀) was the one used in this study. As for the R₀ being distorted by the asymptomatic subjects, this can be cleared out since in Saudi Arabia active screening of asymptomatic cases was part of the measures used by the health authorities.

The authors of the letter mentioned that several variables may influence the case fatality rate of Covid-19. This is true and is a valid point as mentioned.¹ However, measuring the variables influencing the case fatality rate from Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia is out of the scope of this specific study.¹

Implementing extreme measures to combat the spread of the virus definitely have significant impact on the psychological wellbeing of the population. However, one can argue that the burden of Covid-19 disease and its consequences outweighs the psychological, moral, and financial burden of these measures.

In the study at hand, several measures were only implemented in highly infected areas, such as the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. This may have a positive influence in decreasing the economic losses effected by extreme measures implemented to the whole country.

In conclusion, perhaps other methods of containing the virus should be studied against extreme measures. The study at hand focused on assessing the effectiveness of precautionary measures implemented in Saudi Arabia on containing the spread of Covid-19, and appeared highly effective. Further studies are recommended to assess the cost-effectiveness of different interventional strategies to contain the spread of the virus.

Finally, I would like to thank the authors again for their perceptive outlook on the study, and the editor for giving me the opportunity to respond to the letter.