Category: Approaches of different countries
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Lessons from the countries that brought their coronavirus cases to almost zero
The following article written by Jason Beaubien for NPR attempts to harness the lessons for controlling the coronavirus outbreak from the countries that succeeded in doing so. Some of the countries identified in this article include New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam. What were the common factors that led to these countries’ success? Here…
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Why no one in Israel can explain the drop in coronavirus cases
In this article for Haaretz, Meirav Arlosoroff explains that experts in Israel are surprised that instead of going up, coronavirus cases dropped after lockdowns were lifted. None of the mathematical models used in Israel predicted this outcome. Arlosoroff cites the words of Prof. Hagai Levine who said that the models developed by physicists and mathematicians led…
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Japan’s COVID-19 strategy
Japan is transitioning out of its state emergency as the number of new SARS-COV-2 infections fall, despite no lockdowns, no high tech apps for tracking people’s movements, and little testing. How did Japan manage to beat the coronavirus? This article written by Lisa Du and Grace Huang for Time Magazine explores several possible factors for…
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Sweden’s COVID-19 strategy will soon be the world’s
In this article for Foreign Affairs, authors Nils Karlson, Charlotta Stern, and Daniel Klein discuss the benefits of the Swedish COVID-19 strategy and why more countries will soon emulate it. The authors also discuss the many reasons why countries must begin to ease lockdowns as soon as they can. Editor’s Note: The success of the Swedish strategy…
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This is how Iceland is dealing with COVID-19
While Sweden has become a model for a non-lockdown approach to COVID-19, the reality is that there are actually a number of countries that have followed the same route. One such country is Iceland. Iceland is known for testing more than 10% of its population, which has allowed us to understand COVID-19 a little better.…
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Austrian minister denounces the use of fear-based strategy to deal with COVID-19
In this 16-minute address to the Austrian government, Minister of the Interior Herbert Kickl denounces the strategy used by the country in dealing with COVID-19. He says that the country’s leaders are capitalizing on fear, to the effect of curtailing the freedoms of its citizens, which in turn has lead to the destruction of its…
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New Zealand is now at COVID-19 level 3. Here’s what that means
New Zealand (NZ) created a 4-level alert system which specifies measures to be taken against COVID-19 at each level. Level 4 is complete lockdown, while level 3 features restrictions on several sectors in the society [see NZ’s COVID-19 website to learn more about the 4-level alert system]. At alert level 3, preschool and primary schools…
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The Scientist Behind Sweden’s Controversial Coronavirus Strategy Weighs in on the Effectiveness of the Approach
As the number of Swedish deaths because of the coronavirus goes beyond the 1,000 mark, many are already expecting the country’s change of strategy – from a relatively lenient approach to a country-wide lockdown. In this interview with Nature, Swedish epidemiologist Anders Tegnell continues to defend the approach, saying that closing borders is “ridiculous” especially since the…
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European countries begin plans for gradual lifting of lockdowns
As surges in the number of daily infections begin to subside in Europe, countries have started plans to lift some mobility restrictions in order to restart their economies [evidence shows that this is a recurring pattern among countries, regardless of the approach they used to reduce infections, read COVID–19 Growth Rate Declining Worldwide]. In Denmark…
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Why didn’t Sweden implement a lockdown?
While the rest of the world closed its borders and shut down a majority of business activities within their territories, in Sweden, life continues as usual. Except for the ban in gatherings of more than 50 people, schools, restaurants, and gyms remain open. And though Sweden’s lenient strategy alarms those from the outside, Paul Franks…
