INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
For much of the past century, a strategy known as elimination was the gold standard for dealing with deadly new viruses
unpopular and difficult to carry out
With some medical experts doubting whether airborne respiratory pathogens can be suppressed, global public health officials are now without
a consensus on how best to contain new infectious diseases.
Early in the pandemic, proponents argued the strategy was morally,
scientifically and economically superior to so-called mitigation approaches, such as slowing the spread of disease through physical
distancing and limiting social gatherings or letting the virus loose among the young while protecting more vulnerable members of the
population.
As cases spread throughout the world, the full weight of the policy emerged, demanding strict border controls, lockdowns and
extensive testing and contact-tracing
elimination Covid response
But the opportunity is very early on in a pandemic
separations, showed simultaneously that elimination was possible and that it came at a cost too high for most countries, especially
democratic ones, to bear.
The first example was in Wuhan, where Covid pervaded the city in late 2019 and was wiped out less than five
recently became the director of the Public Health Communication Centre in New Zealand, a non-profit group designed to improve the way
medical information and research is conveyed
It halted the march of Covid with an intense, two-month stay-at-home order, plus other measures like contact tracing and quarantines
A handful of other governments in Asia also pursued the policy, including in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore, with
varying degrees of success
Vietnam, Laos and Mongolia, with long borders and limited resources, also used it.
The initial benefits were clear
All were able to curb infections until pharmaceutical interventions like vaccines and antivirals were developed
During that time, health care providers learned how to best treat patients, such as giving them steroids and positioning them on their
stomachs, which boosted survival.
Per-capita death rates in Covid Zero countries came in far below those that opted for mitigation, also
known as flattening the curve
available triggered protests while dragging on the economy
Hopkins Center for Health Security.
China imposed a tracking system that forced millions of people to routinely get laboratory-run PCR
tests to do things like go to the office, eat in a restaurant or ride the subway
Simply being in the proximity of someone who later tested positive could mean lead to home confinement or being taken to a quarantine
camp.
In Shanghai, 25 million people were locked down for two months in 2022
In other cities, workers fled manufacturing plants that used closed-loop systems that kept them inside the factories
Residents scaled fences and shoppers rushed exits when rumors of infections cropped up, for fear of being forced into weeks of isolation
Protests, once unheard of, erupted.
In the face of such discontent, China abruptly dropped its stringent elimination measures in
Thousands of Australians caught outside the country when Covid flared were denied re-entry for more than 18 months, while Melbourne endured
six lockdowns over 262 days in a bid to keep the virus out
Both countries have since seen a change in leadership.Public Revolt
Even governments that decided against elimination, opting instead to
flatten the curve, struggled to persuade people to follow basic control methods
In the US and many parts of Europe, topics like mask-wearing and immunizations for high-risk people became political quagmires, despite
studies showing they slowed infections and saved lives.
It was particularly difficult to persuade people to accept sacrifices like online
schooling and social isolation without knowing how long the pandemic would last
Especially in the early stages, health officials were unsure which mitigation measures would prove successful or how long it would take to
The number of emerging infectious diseases continues to grow due to global warming and the development of rural areas that are home to wild
animals, which act as hosts for many viruses.
Countries that were able to initially follow an elimination strategy are likely to pursue it
