Japan (as of March 30) less than 2000 cases, 50+ deaths, no lockdown
Hong Kong — about 700 cases
Singapore — about 400 cases
Sweden, Holland, no lockdown (herd immunity concept)
New York City — about 35,000 cases, lockdown
We must be doing something wrong, or the media is hyping
a non-crisis, or both
Media can’t be trusted on anything, but especially this.
Are we doing something wrong? Probably.
Sweden has had 180 deaths. We have 35 times the number of people Sweden has. If they had our population, their “let it burn” method would have resulted in roughly 6300 deaths by now, many more than the current 3400 deaths we have had.
The Netherlands has had over a thousand deaths. We have about 21 times the number of people that the Netherlands has. If the Netherlands had our population they would have 21000 deaths by now.
You can bet that everyone in HK, Singapore and Japan wears masks, face shields/big sunglasses and gloves when they step out of their homes.
They also never wear their outdoor shoes in their homes but change into their slippers at then door.
I am an expat living in Holland, and while there is no complete lockdown here there are significant closures and restrictions.
Whether Holland’s quarantine-lite will work remains to be seen. Daily death reports have trended significantly higher and for a number of days the country has ranked the third or fourth highest in the world in number of deaths per million. Right now, excluding San Marino and Andorra, the top is Italy, then Spain, then Belgium and then The Netherlands.
Ultimately this strategy may work, but it is also very risky. Business is surely hurting, and there is a significant risk that the hospitalizations get out of hand.