  Purpose: In this study we propose to identify significant economic,
political, and social factors that helped contribute to the incidence and
mortality of SARS-CoV-2 around the world during the first seven months of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Retrospective analyses were conducted using data
acquired by the World Health Organization regarding the number of new cases and
deaths from 76 countries from January through July 2020. Hierarchical cluster
and principal component analyses were used to categorize different countries
based on their ability to control the outbreak based on number of cases and
deaths throughout these initial months of the pandemic. Furthermore, using
non-parametrical analyses, different variables were correlated with multiple
economic, political, and social indexes. Results: Multiple significant
correlations were found, including the control of corruption, government
effectiveness, and the human life indicator, with indexes containing the higher
correlations demonstrating the capability of individual countries to help drive
the course of this pandemic. Geographical hotspots were identified that
required further attention to aid in outbreak control. Conclusion:
Collectively, the findings in this study indicate that multiple factors beyond
the biological should be considered in the implementation of measures to
contain this pandemic
