COVID-19 Comparisons Between China, Italy, and the United States

As of April 22, 2020, the United States has more recorded COVID-19 cases than any other country in the world. With over 800,000 cases to date, the country has far surpassed Italy and China, the countries that previously had the highest recorded case numbers.  Each country is handling the virus differently as scientists try to find a vaccine. 

The strand of coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China. The country currently has 83,583, according to the live case map created by John Hopkins Medical. China’s government allowed for a much more extreme approach when it comes to dealing with the virus. Their authoritarian government allowed for government officials to go to citizens’ houses and test them for symptoms. If even mild cases were shown they would be sent into isolated make-shift infirmaries so that the virus would not spread to other people in nearby areas. They had drones hovering in the above towns, to make sure that all citizens were wearing protective gear, and would mark people that were not wearing protective gear. On top of those measures, they had all citizens download an app, so they could track their locations and the possibility of who would spread the virus. Depending on what permissions the app granted them they could live their day to day lives, or end up being forced to quarantine in their houses according to USAToday. 

China was not the only country to take extreme measures. Italy currently has 183,957 cases of COVID-19. The country went into a lockdown on March 9, 2020. The government cancelled all sporting events and tried to make sure that their citizens were social distancing. All non-essential businesses were closed down in efforts to maintain the spread, which has shown fruitful results. The country has seen it’s first decline in case rates, according to BBC News. Italy’s lockdown is set on May 3 of this year, but as of the moment some businesses do have government permission to reopen so the country can assess how to continue opening up businesses while social distancing. 

The United States has taken similar, but less extreme measures than Italy, even though the case numbers are the highest globally. The only measure the country has taken is trying to enforce curfew. No businesses have been shut down involuntarily and the country has decided to leave it up to each state to set their own regulations. Though the government did send out checks to some citizens, they received different amounts based on their salaries, with checks ranging from $1,200 to $1.7 million. The US has not taken any form of extreme measure to combat the virus, as of the moment President Donald Trump is even debating stopping funding to WHO, the World Health Organization. Though they have set up many testing centers, most are overcrowded and take hours to get through. 

As we live through this pandemic, it is important to forget that we are not the only country facing a crisis. Everyone globally is being affected by this pandemic and if we don’t come together to combat the virus, the spread won’t stop. Currently the world is working to create a vaccine, here are some links where you can donate to vaccine research and supplies for hospitals: 

https://covid19responsefund.org/

https://www.fredhutch.org/en/ways-to-give/direct-your-gift/support-coronavirus-research.html

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/giving.html

https://www.atlantichealth.org/patients-visitors/donate-volunteer/donate-supplies-covid-19.html