Behind the curve
What local experts say we can learn from countries that curbed coronavirus
Hdo you manage a raging pandemic? sounds like a frightening riddle for the coronavirus age. But the answer — by following basic measures patiently and consistently for as long it takes — is something some countries have figured out and others, including the U.S., still are struggling with.
Nevada experts say countries that so far have been most successful in managing the pandemic have no special technique or magic fix. Rather, they say, the countries have successfully enacted such now-familiar measures as testing and persuading citizens to stay at home and wear masks in public.
The countries whose numbers of cases, deaths and hospitalizations are moving in the right direction “have managed to have a first big wave and then got it under control,” said Brian Labus, an assistant professor in UNLV’S School of Public Health and a member of the Nevada governor’s coronavirus task force.
Compared to the rest of the world, we’re not handling this well.
New Zealand, for example, has effectively halted community transmission of the virus. “It’s still in the community,” Labus said, “but they’re able to get back to their normal lives.”
In contrast, the U.S. “started to get it under control” but saw spikes after what now seems to be too early reopenings in its worst-hit states, said Labus, who is also former epidemiologist for the Southern Nevada Health District.
The bottom line, Labus said: “Compared to the rest of the world, we’re not handling this well.”
Differing cultures
Comparing countries head to head is tricky because they vary so widely in population size, cultures and political systems.
“We’re different in America,” said Dr. Fadi El-salibi, a Las Vegas infectious disease specialist. “We’re a much bigger country. We have a lot of mobility here.”
“You’re comparing a U.S. population of 330 million with countries that have (health) systems for 5 to 8 million,” said Dr. Wolfgang Gilliar, dean of Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Labus said, too, that
public health in the U.S. primarily is carried out at the state and local levels. “So we do not have a federal mandate to say, ‘Everybody must do this in this way.’ Every state basically does its own thing. That gives us 50 chances to get it right, but also 50 chances to get it wrong, and disease doesn’t care about borders.”
Familiar measures
But, with caveats noted, experts said the countries that have seen the most success in managing the pandemic have relied on widespread testing and contact tracing to identify cases and isolate and treat carriers, ordering or encouraging the wearing of face masks to minimize person-to-person transmission, and enacting quarantines, travel restrictions and bans on public gatherings to stanch the virus’ spread.