Locals, who know Sunnydale's housing projects well, flattened a COVID-19 outbreak

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.

Rwanda, a country with the same population of Ohio, has emerged as an example of how to slow the spread of coronavirus, with only 1,500 cases reported so far. Besides initiating a lockdown, implementing free testing, and recruiting community health care workers, police, and college students to be contact tracers, officials also used "the same structure, same people, same infrastructure and laboratory diagnostics" that had been working to contain the spread of HIV.

South Korea's national government took quick action and implemented sweeping policy changes that have helped the country better control the spread of Covid-19. Contact tracing and democratizing the creation of testing supplies were two key aspects, but a major influencer was how quickly the country set these actions into motion by centralizing their approach.

Having learned lessons from the 2015 MERS outbreak, South Korea was quick to implement both widespread testing and contact tracing at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although cases were only just beginning to be reported in the country, government officials were already working with bioengineers to create test kits in order to "prepare for the worst."

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.

Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan all implemented similar comprehensive public health emergency plans that successfully reduced the spread of coronavirus in each region. Although each country used tactics such as travel restrictions, widespread testing, transparent communication, and quarantine protocols, Taiwan and South Korea are emerging as models for other countries due to the structure of democracy.

Different chapters of the Nigerian Medical Students’ Association came together to form the National Malaria Elimination and Sensitisation Project or NMESP in 2021 wherein 433 of their members volunteered to carry out outreach work. They collaborated with local churches, youth groups, and the local health centers to reach the community. In 46 days, they had spread malaria awareness in about 38 communities and tested 523 people with Rapid Diagnostic Test kits. They also prescribed medications, and distributed free repellents and insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

After becoming a COVID-19 hotspot, Guadalupe built partnerships and built trust among community members to effectively track cases, dispel misinformation, and increase vaccinations. The Town Council partnered with Pascua Yaqui tribal leaders, the broader Maricopa County, Native Health, and a COVID-19 response team composed of faculty, staff, and students at Arizona State University to lower infection rates. A combination of at-home testing, contact tracing and, eventually, vaccination events helped, as did the use of promotoras – community health workers who talk with residents to help ease anxiety.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe curbed COVID-19 death rates with contact-tracing, surveillance of high-risk people, and vaccinations. After a devastating COVID-19 outbreak, health officials began daily home visits to monitor vital signs of those who tested positive and those at greatest risk, allowing positive cases to be identified early. In combination with prior health outreach programs, this helped the team to form strong bonds with tribal members, which has been key to the program’s success. This familiarity has also helped them address vaccine hesitancy as they vaccinate people in their homes.

Milan’s tampone sospeso or “suspended test” initiative provides rapid COVID-19 tests to stop the spread of the virus. The initiative sets up in highly visible public areas of Milan and is based on a model of mutual support where everyone pays what they can. It is run with the help of over 50 volunteers and Medicina Solidale, a group of medical professionals who provide free medical advice to those who can’t afford to access care. The project has raised 24,000 euros from 436 donors, which has enabled them to administer rapid antigenic swabs to more than 3000 people.