When looking at all of the COVID-19 news, it is easy to get caught up in the happenings of the United States, Italy, China, and the other places dominating the media. Currently, countries around the world are taking vastly different measures in response to COVID-19. Here is a look at two of the more interesting responses.
Taiwan was positioned to be hit harder than most by COVID-19—they are extremely densely populated, with over 23 million people concentrated in the parts that are habitable. Furthermore, they have frequent contact with China, so it would only be logical that they would be hit harder than any. This is not the case.
Taiwan swiftly reacted to the news of the virus and managed to control the spread better than most other countries. This started with the National Health Command Center (NHCC) established after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) struck. This preparedness paid off big, as over 100 actions were put into place to prevent spread, starting as early as December 31st.
According to a Stanford University report by Beth Duff-Brown, some of those 100 actions were “border control from the air and sea, case identification using new data and technology, quarantine of suspicious cases, educating the public while fighting misinformation, negotiating with other countries — and formulating policies for schools and businesses to follow,” all of which help to explain their success. The preparations didn’t end there. They also worked to secure adequate supplies for medical workers by stopping exports of surgical masks as early as January 21 and cranking up production to 10 million per day.
Duff-Brown’s article reported that a vital part of their success was the bipartisan work to get ahead of the crisis, and the transparency and consistent communication between the government and the people. Extensive testing of citizens has even allowed the government to track isolated incidents and prevent community spread to an impressive degree.
As the situation worsens around the globe, COVID-19 is catching up to Taiwan and total cases have risen to above 200 and deaths at 2, a still impressive number.
Nicaragua has taken the opposite approach to dealing with the pandemic, where the government, according to Univision News, has “refused to take preventative measures against the looming threat even as it encircled the country.” The attitude among many is that extreme measures are not necessary, because people will get it no matter what.
In Nicaragua, shutting down vast portions of the country isn’t an option like it is in some countries. Half of households live in extreme poverty and almost a third of people live off of $2 a day or less. With the majority of the country living day to day, shutting down the country would be detrimental to citizens and simply is not possible without effects more destructive than COVID-19 itself.
While a shutdown is not possible, some measures could be taken to slow the spread. Instead, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, organized a huge march called “Love in the time of COVID-19”, filling the streets with crowds of people on March 14. This encouragement by the government of large gatherings is in stark contrast to much of the world that has banned such events. The government has also failed to communicate information about COVID-19 to their people, encouraging the spread of panic buying and confusion. The government has ordered that all schools stay open, and they have promoted 80 events for Holy Week.
While it is difficult to find information on the happenings of Nicaragua, the Havanah times reported the government expects that “in six months the coronavirus will infect 32,500 people in Nicaragua and will cause 813 deaths.”
Some countries will be seeing the effects of COVID-19 more than others—remember to be grateful for the measures being put in place to keep us safe.
