What the international community can learn from one another
As the clock struck midnight, it seemed that the international community was holding its breath for a new year. There were hopes that with a new year would come relief from rising case counts, ICUs pushing full capacity, and increasingly tighter lockdown restrictions. Nevertheless, much of the international community currently remains in a grueling battle against COVID-19 as case counts continue to surge across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that this challenging start to 2021 “represents a tipping-point in the course of the pandemic.”
The international community is at a crossroads now more than ever with the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 variant with higher transmissibility, sparking concern for healthcare facilities already under stress and nearing full capacity. Despite reluctance to reflect upon the events of 2020, at this significant turning point many nations must look towards the steps and, more importantly, the missteps taken at the outset of the outbreak. They must begin this year by emphasizing measures promoted by nations who have managed to win the war on COVID-19, or who are very close to approaching a long-awaited victory.
Notably, the disparate realities seen in nations like New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Hong Kong and others have not arisen simply from winning the geographic lottery. To many in the international community struggling to control cases, these outcomes may seem largely surreal and a result of sheer coincidence. However, they reflect political choices taken at the right time informed by good science.
Turning towards New Zealand, the nation seen as a COVID-19 success story with 25 deaths to date, the result is largely the outcome of one of the world’s earliest and toughest lockdowns. On March 14, 2019, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced one of the toughest border restrictions by enacting isolation measures for anyone entering the country. With 102 confirmed cases, the country entered its strictest lockdown during March 25 to April 9 which only allowed non-essential workers the opportunity to exercise for a limited time near their residences. In late April, as many countries were struggling to contain their first wave of cases, New Zealand had one of the highest testing rates per capita in the world, and despite a steady decline in cases, Ardern tightened restrictions further, with all citizens and permanent residents travelling to New Zealand having to spend 14 days in an approved facility for quarantine.
Taiwan, with seven COVID-19 deaths to date, has also been viewed as an international leader for its effective and early response to the outbreak. In late December of 2019, while many countries were relying upon limited reporting in monitoring the spread of the virus, Taiwanese authorities began screening passengers of direct flights from Wuhan and began quarantining passengers travelling to the country prior to their first reported cases. The local pandemic was largely controlled through efficient measures of widespread testing and early track-and-trace programs.
Nations such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, South Korea and others similarly took early steps to implement strategic and widespread testing, enforce mandatory quarantine protocols, and implement strict nation-wide lockdowns. The effective measures adopted in these countries exemplifies an approach which views the elimination of transmission – in the words of Ardern – not merely as a point in time, but as a sustained effort requiring scientific expertise, cooperation, and consideration for the lives of others.
It is at this ‘tipping-point’ where much of the international community finds itself as the new year begins, on the brink of having to reign in the effects of a perplexing and increasingly transmittable virus. As illustrated by the nations who have come close to succeeding in their fight against COVID-19, it is evident that effective measures to curb the spread of the virus are found at the nexus of political agency and scientific guidance. As emphasized by the WHO, this is a moment “where science, politics, technology and values must form a united front, in order to push back against this persistent and elusive virus.”