Seattle’s leaders let scientists take the lead. New York’s did not

‘Today, New York City has the same social-distancing policies and business-closure rules as Seattle. But because New York’s recommendations came later than Seattle’s—and because communication was less consistent—it took longer to influence how people behaved. According to data collected by Google from cell phones, nearly a quarter of Seattleites were avoiding their workplaces by March 6th. In New York City, another week passed until an equivalent percentage did the same.

‘More than fifteen thousand people in New York are believed to have died from covid-19. Last week in Washington State, the estimate was fewer than seven hundred people.’

Read here (New Yorker, April 26, 2020)

Intermittent social distancing may be needed through 2022 to manage Covid-19

‘On-and-off periods of social distancing will likely be needed into 2022 to ensure that hospitals have enough capacity for future Covid-19 patients in need of critical care, according to a new modeling study from researchers at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

‘The research, published April 14, 2020 in the journal Science, predicted several scenarios for how the coronavirus might spread over the next five years, taking into account factors such as whether or not the virus will exhibit seasonality, whether people who are infected go on to develop short-term or long-term immunity, and whether people would get any cross-protective immunity from having been infected with other types of coronaviruses that cause common colds.’

Read here (Harvard School of Public Health, April 14, 2020)

Hong Kong’s edge over Singapore shows early social distancing works

‘The diverging outcomes in Hong Kong and Singapore -- which are still handling the virus far better than many other advanced economies -- show how early and strict social distancing measures may be more beneficial to the economy over the long term. In Europe and the US, politicians are now mulling lifting lockdowns to revive their economies, even as health experts caution against relaxing too soon.’

Read here (Bloomberg, April 10, 2020)

Social distancing in China now: A vlog by The China Traveller, a UK citizen who lived through the lockdown in Beijing

‘Life is very gradually returning to normal in China, but there are still loads of social distancing measures in place. Some measures are hi-tech whereas others are quite the opposite. I want to show everyone how social distancing works in the capital, Beijing, at a time when people are starting to return to their normal lives. If you're in another country and you're still unsure of what social distancing should entail, this video might help you understand how others around the world are doing it.’

View here (The China Traveller, Youtube, March 25, 2020)