Since the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, were first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, it has gradually spread worldwide to become a global pandemic. According to the most recent data as of April 28, more than 3 million cases have been confirmed and in excess of 200,000 people have died from the virus. Businesses, schools, and professional sports leagues have been shut down and national economies have been devastated as society adjusts to the new social distancing normal.
While most countries have enacted strict lockdown measures, others have taken different approaches to preventing the spread of the virus, with varying results. The United States, for instance, had the most reported cases as of April 28 at 1.02 million. However, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Sweden, and the United Kingdom all had higher death rates per million people than the US. Below is a further examination of infection rates in specific countries and the measures each has taken to protect its citizens.
United States
The US surpassed 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on April 27 and had peaks and valleys in its confirmed new cases over the past couple of weeks. It had 424 reported new cases on March 12 and that figure increased steadily until April 4, when there were 33,324 confirmed new cases. There were 25,841 new cases reported the following day, but the number of new infections peaked again at 36,008 on April 24. New York has been the state hit hardest by the virus, with more than 300,000 total confirmed cases and in excess of 22,000 deaths.
Because of its relatively high rates of infection, New York—and its neighbor New Jersey—had no immediate plans to end its lockdown. Other states, such as Minnesota, Colorado, Tennessee, and Mississippi, began easing coronavirus restrictions despite warnings from health experts.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp began the gradual process of reopening the state's economy on April 24 and, by the following Monday, churches, bowling alleys, barbershops, restaurants, and movie theaters were allowed to open. However, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is against this decision, as are many businesses, which intended to remain closed at least until the expiration of the shelter-in-place order on May 13.
Canada
Despite bordering the country with the most total confirmed COVID-19 cases, Canada had a relatively low amount of total cases at 49,025 as of April 28. It also had higher test rates and significantly lower death rates per 1 million people. Similar to the US, different provinces have had varying success at controlling the spread of the virus. Provinces with larger urban centers like Quebec and Ontario have been hit the hardest, whereas New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have been less affected.
New Brunswick recorded its ninth consecutive day with no new cases on April 27. The provincial government has already initiated plans to loosen societal restrictions by opening parks and allowing families to mutually select another household with which to spend physical time. While law enforcement has been vigilant in issuing tickets to people not abiding by social distancing guidelines, New Brunswick has largely been successful due to demographics. The province lacks a large metropolis, major transit system, and a busy connecting airport. The Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport, for instance, reported fewer than 700,000 passengers in 2018, whereas the Trudeau International Airport in Quebec had 19.4 million.
Sweden
Sweden has taken a drastically different approach to COVID-19 than most other countries, but it still has one of the highest death rates per million people in Europe. As of April 28, it was higher than neighboring countries Norway, Denmark, and Finland, but still lower than Belgium, Italy, and the UK. Rather than enforcing strict lockdown rules, Sweden has largely remained open for business. Primary schools, restaurants, and even nightclubs are still open as are most businesses, although individuals who can are being encouraged to work from home. Universities and high schools are closed, and gatherings of more than 50 people are outlawed, but the onus for preventing the spread of the virus largely falls upon citizens and their ability to comply with social distancing.
While this strategy has had varying degrees of success depending on metrics, it was recently criticized by a group of doctors, researchers, and virologists in an op-ed in Dagens Nyheter, one of the country’s leading business journals: "As the virus spreads, it is necessary to increase social distance. Close schools and restaurants. Everyone who works with the elderly must wear adequate protective equipment. Quarantine the whole family if one member is ill or tests positive. Elected representatives must intervene, there is no other choice."
India
India ranked 15th in total cases with 31,360 as of April 28, which is significant given the country has a population of nearly 1.4 billion people. Moreover, it only had 1,008 deaths for a rate of 0.7 per 1 million people. This is comparable to much smaller nations like Togo, Jordan, Haiti, and Thailand. The country has been under strict lockdown since March 25 and was one of the first nations to enact critical travel restrictions. It also has a predominantly young population, which some believe is a contributing factor to its low infection and death rate.
Others, like oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, believe the country hasn't performed enough diagnostic and antibody tests to understand the mystery surrounding the low infection rate. There are also questions as to whether there have been unreported or "missing" COVID-19 deaths. Following analysis of more than a dozen countries, both The New York Times and Financial Times concluded thousands more people have died than suggested in official death counts. Neither of those studies, however, included India.