First published on 4 December, updated 11 and 18 December 2020, 22 March, 26 April and 14 July 2021.

At the request of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), HIQA is undertaking a regular review of the public health measures and strategies that are in place internationally to limit the spread of COVID-19. The review focuses on the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 19 jurisdictions that were identified by NPHET as being in a similar phase of pandemic response as Ireland. The countries comprise 13 EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden), the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), as well as Israel and Norway. The review is provided to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) to inform its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This review updates that of 26 April 2021. It contains updated epidemiological data and describes current public health measures, the use of COVID-19 health status for applying exemptions and accessing services, the use of digital certificates to store and access COVID-19 health status data, the use of face masks and physical distancing at mass gatherings and frameworks for living with COVID-19.