Canada's Decentralized "Human-Driven" Approach During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic.

UNSTRUCTURED: A country's early pandemic response is critical for controlling the disease outbreak. During COVID-19, a number of southeast Asian countries utilized a centralized, coordinated, rapid and comprehensive approach that involved smart technology ("techno-driven"). In comparison, Canada's approach appeared to be decentralized, uncoordinated, and slow, and focused on educating citizens and enhancing social and human capital ("human-driven"). We propose that in future pandemics, early and coordinated "techno-driven" approaches should receive more careful considerations to curtail outbreaks, but must be balanced with protecting individuals' freedoms.