Berlin

How to measure your nation’s response to coronavirus

National Geographic reviews the lessons learned from national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alexanderplatz, a large public square in the center of Berlin, is nearly deserted on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Photograph by Emile Ducke, The New York Times via Redux

“Wuhan unexplained pneumonia.” It’s been four months since this simple phrase appeared on the popular health alert service ProMED-mail, the earliest public warning that the novel coronavirus had begun its deadly rampage. Since then, COVID-19 has killed hundreds of thousands across six continents, while sparking a global economic crisis that could rival the worst slowdowns in modern history.

When it comes to managing the spread of this disease, some countries, states, and cities have been faring better than others. Data from Imperial College London and other research groups around the world now showcase the dramatic differences in how countries have been curbing transmission rates within their borders—and which actions have been most effective across the board.

Take Germany versus Sweden.

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