# Country-Based COVID-19 DNA Sequence Classification in Relation with International Travel Policy
## 4 Conclusions  
DNA sequences, even if they belong to the same variant lineage, can be classified based on the country of origin. This study conducted across nine ASEAN countries reveals distinct accuracy levels for each country, indicating the extent to which the sequences can be distinguished from those of other countries. Observing the weekly classification also reveals a moderate correlation between the international travel policy index and the accuracy of DNA sequence classification. Specifically, a higher weekly policy index in a certain prior month correlates with a higher week-wise accuracy within each country. However, when comparing accuracy among countries, it becomes apparent that a deeper understanding of additional factors influencing genetic data is crucial. The variations in classification accuracy between countries do not seem to align with their comparable policy indices. Considering the larger area, which may influence a more diverse character of sequences belonging to a country, the design of this study can be implemented for a group of countries with a similar land area to avoid any bias.  
This study is the first attempt to link the genetic landscape of COVID-19 with policies implemented to restrict people's movement, aiming to isolate virus evolution. Although a more scientific approach and detailed debate are needed to determine the level to which COVID-19 has been influenced by policies in different countries, this paper presents significantly meaningful results based on the given evidence. The findings not only contribute to our understanding of COVID-19 but also pave the way for insights into other diseases that have caused serious crises as well as potential future pandemics in ASEAN countries and beyond.  
Conceptualization, H.-S.P.; methodology, E.K.; software, E.K.; validation, H.-S.P.; formal analysis, E.K.; data curation, E.K.; writing--original draft preparation, E.K.; writing--review and editing, E.K. and H.-S.P.; visualization, E.K.; supervision, H.-S.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research received no external funding.  
Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement**: Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. The genome sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 are available from the GISAID database ([[https://www.gisaid.org/](https://www.gisaid.org/)]([https://www.gisaid.org/](https://www.gisaid.org/))), upon registration. International travel policy dataset can be found here: [[https://github.com/OxCGRT/covid-policy-dataset/tree/main/data](https://github.com/OxCGRT/covid-policy-dataset/tree/main/data)]([https://github.com/OxCGRT/covid-policy-dataset/tree/main/data](https://github.com/OxCGRT/covid-policy-dataset/tree/main/data)). The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths dataset can be found here: [[https://github.com/owid/covid-19-data/tree/master/public/data](https://github.com/owid/covid-19-data/tree/master/public/data)]([https://github.com/owid/covid-19-data/tree/master/public/data](https://github.com/owid/covid-19-data/tree/master/public/data)), all accessed on 30 December 2023.  
We would like to express our gratitude to [PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON] for their insightful discussions during the development of this research.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.