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(#4) Taiwan
- Taipei
Total Population: 23.6 million
First Case: Jan. 21, 2020. Just 80 miles off the coast of mainland China, Taiwan managed to slow the spread of COVID-19 through aggressive action.
Initial Reaction: As reports of the epidemic surfaced in January, Taipei implemented 124 safety protocols to control the disease. The tools included an educational outreach program to warn people about the dangers, tech-based tracking, extensive screening of travelers from Wuhan, and contact tracing for suspected cases.
Taiwan implemented its screening program in mid-January, quarantining anyone with symptoms. Experts from Taiwan also visited China to gain more information about the epidemic.
On Jan. 26, Taiwan banned flights from Wuhan, becoming the first country to take that step. By late February, the government distributed 6.5 million masks to the public. Buildings and schools also began screening people for signs of fever.
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(#11) Italy
- Rome
Total Population: 62.4 million
First Case: Feb. 20, 2020. The first recorded case was when a 38-year-old man in Lombardy tested positive, though many experts believe the virus was in Italy before that.
Initial Reaction: Initially, Italy created a red zone in the northern provinces reporting the most cases. In 11 towns in Lombardy, with a total population of 50,000 people, residents were told to stay home for 15 days. Italy's case numbers quickly rose, until Italy reported more cases and fatalities than any country outside of China in early March.
The virus likely spread undetected for weeks. According to Flavia Riccardo, a researcher at the Italian National Institute of Health, “This started unnoticed which means by the time we realized it, there were a lot of transmission chains happening."
In early March, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a nationwide lockdown. “We all must give something up for the good of Italy,” Conte said. “There is no more time.”
On April 14, Italy began easing the lockdown in certain industries and regions. Select shops including bookshops, laundries, and children clothing stores were allowed to reopen, while select manufacturers for IT and computer parts, as well those in the forestry industry, were allowed to return to work.
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(#1) United States of America
- Washington, D.C.
Total Population: 332.6 million
First Case: Jan. 20, 2020. One day earlier, a man in his 30s visited an urgent care clinic in Washington state. He reported recent travel to Wuhan, China. Based on his travel history, the Washington Department of Health notified the CDC. On Jan. 20, the CDC reported a positive COVID-19 test.
Initial Reaction: On Jan. 22, President Trump made his first public remarks on COVID-19. "We have it totally under control," Trump told CNBC. "It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
On Jan. 31, the United States banned visitors who had recently traveled to China.
On Feb. 19, Trump said, “I think the numbers are going to get progressively better as we go along.”
Evidence of community transmission in Washington, Oregon, and California appeared at the end of February. In early March, Trump called COVID-19 "very mild" and said the death toll would be much smaller than the flu.
By mid-March, the US reported thousands of cases across the country. California became the first state to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order on March 19, quickly followed by other states.
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(#5) China
- Beijing
Total Population: 1.39 billion
First Case: Jan. 7, 2020. In late December 2019, China first reported cases of pneumonia seemingly linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market located in Wuhan. By Jan. 7, they found that the outbreak was due to COVID-19. On Jan. 11, China reported its first death from novel coronavirus.
Initial Reaction: On Jan. 23, China ordered a lockdown of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and other cities in Hubei province. The move quarantined at least 50 million people.
China built two new hospitals to handle overflow cases, completing them in just over one week. In Wuhan, the government prioritized contact tracing, creating over 1,800 teams dedicated to tracing contacts with infected individuals. Chinese authorities also used mobile apps to track people's movements and enforce travel restrictions. Drones monitored the streets, enforcing orders to wear a mask at all times and ordering people to go home.
After reporting a dramatic decrease in the number of cases China lifted their lockdown of Wuhan on Apr. 8. Wuhan Epidemic Control Official Luo Ping, however, said that opening the city "does not mean the all-clear, neither does it mean a relaxing of epidemic prevention and control measures"
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(#14) Germany
- Berlin
Total Population: 80 million
First Case: Jan. 26, 2020. The first German cases appeared in Bavaria, beginning with a Chinese woman who came to visit a branch of the corporation she worked for.
Initial Reaction: In response, Germany focused on testing. Early testing and contact tracing helped Germany control the spread of the disease.
By March 15, Germany had performed 167,000 tests. The government barred visitors for elderly residents and encouraged self-quarantine. The country also banned all gatherings of more than two people and closed schools and nonessential businesses.
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(#6) Russia
- Moscow
Total Population: 141.7 million
First Case: Jan. 31, 2020. After its first two cases were reported, Russia began a massive testing push, ultimately testing over 190,000 people by late March. Russia also created a reserve of 700,000 tests.
Initial Reaction: Russia closed its border with China in late January.
For over a month after identifying the first case, Russia did not institute any significant restrictions within the country. “We were able to contain the mass penetration and spread [of COVID-19]” President Putin said in mid-March. “The situation is generally under control despite high risk levels.”
In late March, Russia saw a spike in cases and instituted new restrictions. The government stopped international travel, ordered older Moscow residents to stay home, and closed schools.
Several independent reports claim that Russia significantly undercounted coronavirus cases in the first two months of its outbreak. In particular, the country saw a major increase in pneumonia and influenza cases that may have been misdiagnosed cases of COVID-19.
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About This Tool
The COVID-9 epidemic is spreading all over the world, the infection rate of countries fluctuates, and the epidemic prevention measures continue to be strict. It is obvious that by analyzing the response policies of various regions, other countries can learn some useful information from them. Every country has different attitudes and responses to Covid-9, a positive and efficient response is obviously effective in controlling the epidemic.
If you are also interested in the responses from other countries around the world, welcome to check the random tool to watch some videos and get more detailed information about the epidemic in 16 different countries.
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