Seattle's success at fighting the pandemi‪c‬

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."

Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea have each seen success through their efforts to contain the coronavirus. Using methods such as aggressive isolation methods that include penalties, contact tracing and rapid intervention strategies that were in place from previously dealing with other communicable diseases, the lessons these countries have learned could provide information for countries still struggling to slow the spread.

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.

Finland, Norway, and Denmark are three countries that have largely been able to contain the spread of COVID-19 and keep average daily deaths low, by implementing some of the "most relaxed combinations of restrictions." Although the virus has not been entirely eradicated, the success so far has been tied to a high rate of public compliance, preventative measures, and clear communication.

New Zealand went 100 days without a single new case of Covid-19 after implementing strict restrictions which included "no takeaways, no beaches, and no driving outside of your neighborhood." Because of the government's quick action, the county remained in lockdown for only seven weeks. The government is now keeping focus on elimination rather than eradication as it is expected that the virus could resurface.

Baltimore has reported approximately 10,000 cases of Covid-19, but the local Maryland Baptist Aged Home hasn't had a single senior resident infected due "a relatively small population of 29 residents, a strong history of infection control, a dedicated staff and...the cynicism that comes with residing in an underserved community." Leadership at the nursing home acted before local government officials did, implementing a strict lockdown and widespread testing protocols while also relying on measures already in place such as thorough infection-reducing cleaning regimens.

A faith-based nursing home facility in Baltimore has managed to remain free of any cases of coronavirus due to proactive and aggressive preparedness measure. Although there were concerns that implementing such restrictions could negatively impact the social emotional health of residents, the facility management took this concern seriously and implemented additional protocols that prioritized making sure the residents felt taken care of.

As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, we’re also learning lessons from one another. For instance, Taiwan’s ability to have a designated Central Epidemic Command Center helped to coordinate a comprehensive response and keep their numbers low, and Iceland immediately partnered with a private company to scale their testing design. Germany built out their hospital capacity, which can now handle 10x what it needs, and South Korea developed over 500 testing stations around the country.

The speed of the response matters in mitigating the public health impact of a pandemic. Greece, which acted to restrict non-essential movement faster than countries like Spain and Italy, has sufewera fewer cases of COVID-19. Alongside enacting containment policies only days after its first cases, Greece has been able to prepare its emergency medical system by recruiting additional doctors and staff.