United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced criticism for initially promoting a modest response to the outbreak, saying on March 3 that he had been shaking hands with coronavirus patients. The outbreak has infected a host of senior officials, politicians, clerics and members of the elite Revolutionary Guards. Iran’s clerical rulers have struggled to contain the spread of the virus despite the closure of schools and universities and the suspension of religious, cultural and sports events across the country. The country’s National Health Commission said on March 12 that China has passed the peak of the epidemic. Similar restrictions across China in the following weeks slowed the growth of new cases. In late January, with hospitals overwhelmed, the country put the entire province of Hubei - contaiting Wuhan, the city where the outbreak originated - on lockdown by restricting the movements of some 60 million people.
Mainland China (excludes Hong Kong and Macau) recorded more than 81,000 cases by the end of March. By the end of March, France had over 52,000 confirmed cases and over 3,500 deaths. The doubling rate of new infections had slowed to roughly five days by the first week of April after doubling every two days at the beginning of the pandemic.įrance decided on March 17 to confine its residents to their homes to curb the spread of the virus as a daily surge of infections threatened the health system. They also closed schools, shops, restaurants, playgrounds and sports facilities, and many companies halted production to help slow the spread of the disease. Germany introduced border controls with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Denmark beginning March 16. After weeks of restrictions, the rate of new confirmed infections and deaths began to plateau. The country went on lockdown on March 10 when the government ordered everyone across the country not to move around, other than for work and emergencies, banned all public gatherings and suspended sporting events. Italy had more than 105,000 confirmed cases and 12,000 deaths by the end of March. But by the end of March, the Iberian country had the second-highest number of fatalities behind only Italy. Spain announced a nationwide, 15-day state of emergency on March 14, which restricted transportation and ordered bars, restaurants and most shops to close. Official stay-at-home orders have been left up to state and local governments. Outbreaks in New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Louisiana overwhelmed hospitals, and sent state and local officials scrambling to acquire ventilators and personal protective equipment for hospital workers. Still, by the first week of April, the United States had more cases than any other country in the world. An initial batch of tests issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were found to be faulty, and many state and local authorities have said they have not been able to test as many people as they would like. Testing in the United States has been slow to ramp up.
Aggressive measures can help flatten the curve, and countries that have shut down cities and limited travel have managed to slow the doubling rate. The goal in every emerging outbreak is to slow the rate of infection.
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