Proof that social distancing works

amother

Mon, Mar 30 2020, 7:57 am

[This is essentially a political thread. Please feel free to restart it in Politics. — Rubber Ducky as Mod.]

Israel had their first coronavirus case February 21st. They immediately cracked down and banned large gatherings, forced mandatory quarantines when necessary, sending in police to shut down weddings and close businesses, etc. Travel in and out was restricted, with arrivals being placed into mandatory quarantine. As of yesterday, Israel had 4,347 cases and 15 deaths.

New York had their first coronavirus case March 1st, nine days later than Israel. It took two weeks until schools were closed, and people were encouraged, but not required, to practice social distancing. Cuomo only issued the stay-at-home order this week. Travel in and out of the airports was and is unrestricted. As of yesterday, New York had 60,000 cases and 1,000 deaths.

The United States had its first case on January 19th. South Korea, population 50,000,000, had its first coronavirus case the next day, on January 20th. The United States now has 142,000 cases and 2,490 deaths. South Korea has 9,661 cases and 158 deaths.

How Korea succeeded where we failed: "They've used testing aggressively to identify cases — not only testing people who are so sick that they're hospitalized but also mild cases and even suspected cases. They've quarantined tens of thousands of people who may have been exposed to confirmed cases. The vast majority of the people ordered to quarantine at home are perfectly healthy and never do get sick, but the few who do develop symptoms can be quickly isolated further."

You hear about how social distancing and other measures are being taken to "flatten the curve." You can see the flattened curve of Asian countries in the following graphic, which also shows the skyrocketing curve of the United States. Since this graph was drawn, the American cases have DOUBLED to 142,000, whereas the Korean cases have increased by about 500, from about 9,100 to about 9,600.

It has been said that the United States is threatening the world's ability to manage this pandemic because it is not doing its part. Trump recently said that America should end all restrictions by April 12th, and those who die should die "for the love of their country."

amother

Apricot

Mon, Mar 30 2020, 8:04 am

Comparing NY to Israel is really not appropriate due to the amount of travelers and density. Social distancing does work. NY has had cases since January, as had Washington State. NY likely had hundreds of imported unidentified cases before the first official case was reported. Our Country (USA) should have had better testing in Februsry at the latest but we can only move forward and learn from the past.