Managing Covid-19: Top Five Countries

Healthcare workers across the globe have been put under pressure working during the pandemic. Image via Unsplash

The pandemic has affected the entire world, leaving some countries crippled by the effects. However, there are countries who handled the virus with extreme precision and effectiveness. Lockdowns were made mandatory at different times and a variety of strategies were implemented with differing restrictions; some countries proved to have better methods than others. The current global cases of Covid-19 are around 173,776,250 and an estimated global death toll of 3,737,716. Here are the top five countries who dealt with Covid-19 successfully.

1.       Taiwan

Taiwan has had an estimated 11,398 cases and 260 deaths.

Due to its networks with China, Taiwan was able to have a clear view at the beginning of the outbreak, allowing them to act quickly and begin testing and quarantining visitors from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of Covid-19; all before it was even on the radar of other governments.

Due to the outbreak of SARS in the early 2000s (which severally affected Taiwan) they have a supply of facemasks, medical officers and lab capacity to handle any future outbreaks. They also set up an infectious disease prevention network and held annual drills within hospitals.

Furthermore, successful technology was used to track and trace suspected cases. If a citizen tested positive, they were provided with a quarantine hotel and transport to get there.

2.       Bhutan

Bhutan has had an estimated 1,682 cases and one death.

When the original spread of Covid-19 started early last year, Bhutan was home to less than half of the World Health Organization's recommended ratio of doctors to people; with 337 physicians for a population of 760,000 and only one of these doctors had advanced training in critical care. There was one PCR machine to test viral samples and it had barely 3,000 health workers throughout the country.

Despite this, it wasn’t until 7 January 2021 that Bhutan lost its first citizen to coronavirus, a 34-year-old man who had underlying health issues with his liver and kidneys.

A few days after, Bhutan started drafting its National Preparedness and Response Plan and by the 15 January, they began screening for symptoms of respiratory ailments, as well as using infrared fever scanning at its international airport as well as other points of entry.

Mandatory quarantine for anyone with possible exposure to the virus was extended in Bhutan from the 14 days recommended by WHO to 21 days, eradicating the 11 per cent chance that a person released after 14 days could still pass on the virus and furthermore psychological counselling was provided for anyone in quarantine and isolation.

3.       New Zealand

New Zealand has had an estimated 2,639 cases and 26 deaths.

New Zealand took an extreme approach to boarder closings and travel restrictions, but it proved successful. Restrictions to and from other countries were implemented as early as February 2020 and by March 26, the country was under a full national lockdown. Previous to this, New Zealand committed to an elimination strategy.  

Instead of taking the “flatten the curve” approach, New Zealand opted for a more aggressive “disease elimination” method. In November 2020, health authorities partially shut down the central city of Auckland after just one student became infected with Covid-19.

4.       Iceland

Iceland has had an estimated 6,604 cases and 30 deaths.

Iceland is one of the only countries who was never forced to implement the large-scale lockdown that most European countries faced. This was mainly due to the small population and the fact that members of the public actually followed the rules, and partially to do with the effective and swift response from the government. If a person was suspected of having the virus, they were instructed to stay at home with the government covering the individual’s full salary.

Thanks to the help of the Icelandic genetics and pharmaceutical company deCODE, Iceland has more testing capabilities than any other country in the world and had started testing people arriving from abroad and quarantining anyone who arrived from virus hotspots in January 2020. They had tested nearly 50,000 people over the course of six weeks.

5.       Vietnam

Vietnam has had an estimated 8,747 cases and 53 deaths.

Due to its past experiences with SARS and human cases of avian flu, Vietnam had both the knowledge and infrastructure to react quickly and effectively after their first outbreak of the virus in January 2020. An emergency plan was immediately put into place with travel restrictions, increased health checks at borders and the closure of the border with China.

Schools closed at the end of January 2020 and remained closed until mid-May.

There have been big outbreaks in Vietnam, however, their aggressive measures to ensure less spread have proved successful. In July, there was an outbreak of over 450 cases in Da Nang, in just one weekend. The government evacuated around 80,000 visitors in the city and swiftly flew them home. The city then sealed itself off from visitors and retreated into a full lockdown.

It’s due to the coordination and ability of these governments and the cooperation of the people that allowed these countries to keep their cases of Covid-19 under control and diminish death rates. All the more reason to pay attention to government guidelines and follow them as accurately as possible.