A Meta Analysis for the Basic Reproduction Number of COVID-19 with Application in Evaluating the Effectiveness of Isolation Measures in Different Countries

COVID-19 is quickly spreading around the world and carries along with it a significant threat to public health This study sought to apply meta-analysis to more accurately estimate the basic reproduction number (R_0) because prior estimates of R_0 have a broad range from 1 95 to 6 47 in the existing literature Utilizing meta-analysis techniques, we can determine a more robust estimation of R_0, which is substantially larger than that provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) A susceptible-Infectious-removed (SIR) model for the new infection cases based on R_0 from meta analysis is proposed to estimate the effective reproduction number R_t The curves of estimated R_t values over time can illustrate that the isolation measures enforced in China and South Korea were substantially more effective in controlling COVID-19 compared to the measures enacted early in both Italy and the United States Finally, we present the daily standardized infection cases per million population over time across countries, which is a good index to indicate the effectiveness of isolation measures on the prevention of COVID-19 This standardized infection case determines whether the current infection severity status is out of range of the national health capacity to care for patients