Purpose

Selection of a suitable location for a quarantine infrastructure represents a complex decision problem, which requires a systematic appraisal of myriads of factors. Quarantine facility in this study is a facility that intends to harbour and treat individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 to prevent the widespread of the virus. COVID-19 is a very contagious pandemic disease, hence, the establishment of critical factors that will embrace the selection of a suitable quarantine facility is of high importance. This paper aims to ascertain the vital few factors that must be considered by decision makers in selecting a suitable quarantine facility.

Design/methodology/approach

The aim of this study was achieved through the numerical assessment of identified quarantine location selection factors using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Pareto techniques. The factors, which influences the selection of a suitable quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients were first identified from the literature followed by the pairwise comparison of the factors and random consistency analyses, as well as the ranking of the alternatives based on facility location experts’ opinions.

Findings

The study revealed that security, skills availability, cost, readiness, proximity to necessary medical facilities and distance to border, with percentage weight scores of 18%, 16.7%, 15.6%, 10.3%, 9.8% and 6.6% were the critical factors that must be considered during the selection of a quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients.

Practical implications

The results of this paper will help the government and decision makers in locating the quarantine sites for people who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Originality/value

The present study focuses on the application of the decision technique to ascertain critical factors that embrace suitable quarantine facility selection. Combination of AHP and Pareto techniques for prioritization of conflicting factors to be considered in selecting the most suitable location for a quarantine facility has not been reported by existing literature.

中文翻译：

---

使用帕累托增强的层次分析法对影响COVID-19患者选择合适的检疫设施的因素进行优先排序

目的

为检疫基础设施选择合适的地点代表了一个复杂的决策问题，需要对各种因素进行系统的评估。这项研究中的隔离设施是旨在收容和治疗被诊断患有COVID-19的个人以防止病毒传播的设施。COVID-19是一种极具传染性的大流行性疾病，因此，建立包含选择合适的隔离设施的关键因素非常重要。本文旨在确定决策者在选择合适的隔离设施时必须考虑的几个重要因素。

设计/方法/方法

本研究的目的是通过使用层次分析法（AHP）和帕累托（Pareto）技术对确定的隔离区选择因素进行数值评估来实现的。首先从文献中确定影响COVID-19患者选择合适的检疫设施的因素，然后对因素进行成对比较和随机一致性分析，以及根据设施位置专家的意见对备选方案进行排名意见。

发现

该研究表明，安全性，技能可用性，成本，准备情况，与必要医疗设施的距离以及与边境的距离，权重百分比分别为18％，16.7％，15.6％，10.3％，9.8％和6.6％是导致以下问题的关键因素：选择COVID-19患者的隔离设施时必须考虑到这一点。

实际影响

本文的结果将有助于政府和决策者确定对COVID-19病毒呈阳性反应的人的隔离地点。

创意/价值

本研究着重于决策技术的应用，以确定包含合适的检疫设施选择的关键因素。现有文献尚未报道将AHP和Pareto技术相结合以优先考虑在为检疫设施选择最合适位置时要考虑的冲突因素。