Italy, Pandemic's New Epicenter, Has Lessons for the World

While some places such as the United Kingdom and London struggle to slow the spread of coronavirus, other countries such as China, South Korea, and Taiwan, have managed to contain the virus through fast-acting government regulations. Although each country's strategy looks different – China enacted a strict lock-down, while South Korea implemented widespread testing – they all acted rapidly to intervene.

China has seen success in containing the coronavirus through strict governmental oversight but when the virus made its way to Vietnam – a country with similar rule – the government enacted more transparent approaches and relied on social networks to mitigate the spread. Although it is yet to be seen if one methodology was superior to the other, Vietnam's strategy of accountability and transparency has "proved to be effective and furnished positive results."

When Covid-19 cases began to be reported in Washington state, the state government – at the suggestion of local health officials – enacted some of the most stringent restrictions in the nation. Although these actions did not come without trade-offs, in Seattle, the strategy has resulted in "the lowest death rate of the 20 largest metropolitan regions in the country."

Unlike the United States, South Korea has seen rapid success in slowing the spread of coronavirus by implementing widespread testing protocols and increasing transparency. Instead of government officials giving updates, public health experts report to the public while throughout the nation pop-up and drive-through testing sites allow for mass-scale testing, all offered free of charge to citizens.

As countries around the world work to slow the spread of coronavirus, several places including Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Macau have reported success from a handful of methods. Mass testing is a common factor throughout each, but financial incentives for self-quarantine, temperature checks at small businesses, and complimentary hand sanitizersr are a few other solutions that have shown promise.

A failed response to the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has helped prepare the country's government and health officials to respond more successfully to the coronavirus pandemic and other public health crises. Several lessons that have proved especially important include the development of a research unit, focusing attention on supporting the community members rather than suppressing the virus, and improving public health communication.

Despite never mandating a lockdown, South Korea has been able to better control the spread of COVID-19 as compared to other countries of similar economic and development status. Focusing on information management and testing, as well as the use of technology to aid both of these tactics, the country has kept the case count to fewer than 80 cases per day. According to the chairman of the World Health Organization’s global outbreak alert and response network, “No country has adapted to living with, and containing, the virus like South Korea."

Sweden’s refusal to enact strict lockdown rules turned out to be far from an unqualified success, but in both its failures and modest benefits it offers lessons on managing through a pandemic while minimizing economic harm. The country’s responses were more nuanced and detailed than a simple hands-off approach. Its economy has not been spared a severe downturn, nor is its death toll anything to brag about. But, in numerous ways, Sweden’s softer approach lives up to its billing as more sustainable than many other countries’.

When faced with the coronavirus pandemic, a number of countries around the world "opted for delayed containment strategies," but countries such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, which took the opposite approach, have seen more success with mitigating the spread. The governments in these countries implemented many aggressive initiatives that were aimed at widespread testing, restricted travel, and contact tracing.

Although the United States, Spain, and Italy are still working to contain the coronavirus outbreak, countries across Asia have seen some success. By implementing rapid intervention and widespread testing, places such as South Korea and Taiwain have seen a decrease in cases and have begun steps to lift some of the restrictions that were in place.