Why measures to combat coronavirus are important

Epidemic coronavirus covered the whole world, but in most countries the number of infected is still small. Therefore, many consider quarantine to be an overreaction of the authorities and just alarmist. Edition Vox compared the situations in America and Italy and came to the conclusion that this is incorrect and rather dangerous rhetoric.

What's going on in America

On March 21, there were more than 25 thousand infected and 300 dead in America. Over the past weekend and Monday, the number of infected has increasedCoronavirus Cases more than 22 thousand.

With a population of 330 million, it seems illogical to impose strict quarantines, close schools, organizations and businesses.

But experts fear that the number of cases and deaths will sharply increase in the near future. To understand this, it is enough to look at the experience of the Italians.

How it was in Italy

A couple of weeks ago, the situation in Italy resembled the United States. By March 4, 107 deaths were recorded, but the situation was rapidly deteriorating: a week later, 600 people died, and now their number exceeds 6,000. Italy has overtaken even China in the number of deaths from COVID-19. The country's hospitals are overcrowded, the medical staff is falling off their feet.

Most horrifying, however, is that the Italian authorities have not been idle. On February 23, quarantine was introduced in the northern region, and on March 4, schools were closed throughout the country. But the number of infected people continued to grow.

On March 8, the government closed the borders of the northern provinces, and on March 9, the whole country. Only such measures made it possible to somewhat improve the situation, but it still remains deplorable.

Why should we worry

The number of people infected in the United States and most European countries is increasing at about the same rate as in Italy. This means that health systems will be overwhelmed if decisive action is not taken in time. And you need to act either harder or faster.

At a press conference on March 16, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the US National Institutes of Health explained why the government's response to the coronavirus should not be considered redundant.

He stressed that during outbreaks of infectious diseases, we always lag behind the real state of affairs. Let's say there are 1,000 new infections. But this does not mean that people have just become infected. The incubation period for COVID-19 is from two to ten days. Plus, a few days pass from the onset of the first symptoms to the visit to the hospital. Another 1-2 days are spent on testing and processing the results.

It turns out that each positive test reflects a situation two weeks ago. And she has already managed to worsen, because most of the time the patients were in society and infect others.

According to statistics11 charts that explain the coronavirus pandemic, without strict social distancing measures, each patient infects on average 2-3 people.

Italy took more than drastic measures, but too late. Each decision corresponded to the situation that the authorities saw, but the reality was much worse.

Using the experience of the Italians, the United States and other countries need to be proactive. Only by taking measures that are now perceived as excessive can the spread of the coronavirus be prevented and controlled.