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Honest question though: Which country would handle it better? A commenter below mentioned the US, but the reaction here in Germany has also been ridiculously s

Honest question though: Which country would handle it better? A commenter below mentioned the US, but the reaction here in Germany has also been ridiculously slow and very lacking in both the political department as well as healthcare officials. An overwhelming majority of NHS medics doesn't think the UK is prepared either. [https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/02/coronavirus-just-eight-out-of-1600-doctors-in-poll-say-nhs-is-ready https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/02/coronavirus-...) Our lower population densities and much higher hygene standards make it less likely for a breakout to start here, but our dealing with a pandemic is at least as frighteningly incompetent as the chinese response.

_bxg1 7y ago
I think I read that South Korea is doing a great job, despite being hit hard
davidw 7y ago
We probably won't know until a year or so. Europe at least will treat everyone, so you won't have people avoiding doctors/hospitals because they can't pay.
- rvnx 7y ago
  It's not really like this in Europe, not sure what made you think all medical care was free ? There are many cases where you are left on the side of the road in Europe too. It's certainly better than in the US, but far from free for everyone.
  - jacquesm 7y ago
    I don't know of a single case of someone going bankrupt here due to medical bils. Feel free to supply examples to the contrary, I'm quite interested in that.
  - neilsense 7y ago
    It can vary country by country, as you'd imagine it would seeing as Europe is a large place, but it's so such a crazy notion to say that you'll most likely find some care in Europe if you're unwell and poor - definitely more so than in the US.
  - davidw 7y ago
    Maybe it's that I lived in Italy for like 15 years? I realize that 'Europe' is broader and there are diverse systems, but by and large - and especially where there is a huge public interest in people healthy - their systems are going to take care of people.
GekkePrutser 7y ago
From the article: "From former schoolmates who now work in the medical profession, I learned that medical workers were not given medical supplies and were exposed to a risk of death. Many people wonder: Why didn't they go on strike? It is because they were informed that if they went on strike, their licenses to practice medicine would be revoked and their family members' jobs would be affected." I'm sure that this kind of thing will not happen in Germany and UK. It's not really the handling of the virus situation, it's his realisation that he's living in a totalitarian state that he's writing about.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  * it's his realization that the totalitarian state he's living in isn't worth the supposed benefits
esyir 7y ago
I think over in Singapore, it was handled pretty well.
- lokedhs 7y ago
  I live in Singapore, and so far they have indeed handled it quite well. What is really needed in a situation like this is transparency, and they are providing this: https://www.moh.gov.sg/ https://www.moh.gov.sg/ They are also doing very good work when it comes to tracing cases and determining who has been in contact with them and ensuring that they are also tested. There are special clinics set up where people with symptoms can go. This is to avoid having patients infect every single clinic all over the country. In places where people gather, such as office buildings, there are temperature screenings, typically using IR cameras. I read somewhere that these catch about 50% of cases. If you're a visitor to an office building, you have to sign a health declaration form, including contact information and declare where in the building you will be going. This information is used if a case is discovered and they need to trace who has been in contact with the patient. When you take a taxi you are adviced to go to a web site where you can fill in your contact information as well as the license plate number of the taxi. This is again used for tracing if needed. Some companies have implemented work-from-home policies where the teams are split with half the team working from home. This is done because if a case is discovered in a company, everybody will evacuate, tracing will be done on all people and the entire office sanitised. If only half the team was in the office at the time, this reduces the impact on the business. For the most part, except the things mentioned above, things are pretty normal. There are of course less tourists, and a lot of businesses are hurting because of that. Singapore usually has a lot of Chinese tourists. People are of course hoping that things will be better soon. I didn't live in Singapore during SARS, but I have been told that it lasted several months.

_bxg1 7y ago

I think I read that South Korea is doing a great job, despite being hit hard

davidw 7y ago

We probably won't know until a year or so. Europe at least will treat everyone, so you won't have people avoiding doctors/hospitals because they can't pay.

rvnx 7y ago
It's not really like this in Europe, not sure what made you think all medical care was free ? There are many cases where you are left on the side of the road in Europe too. It's certainly better than in the US, but far from free for everyone.
- jacquesm 7y ago
  I don't know of a single case of someone going bankrupt here due to medical bils. Feel free to supply examples to the contrary, I'm quite interested in that.
- neilsense 7y ago
  It can vary country by country, as you'd imagine it would seeing as Europe is a large place, but it's so such a crazy notion to say that you'll most likely find some care in Europe if you're unwell and poor - definitely more so than in the US.
- davidw 7y ago
  Maybe it's that I lived in Italy for like 15 years? I realize that 'Europe' is broader and there are diverse systems, but by and large - and especially where there is a huge public interest in people healthy - their systems are going to take care of people.

GekkePrutser 7y ago

From the article: "From former schoolmates who now work in the medical profession, I learned that medical workers were not given medical supplies and were exposed to a risk of death. Many people wonder: Why didn't they go on strike? It is because they were informed that if they went on strike, their licenses to practice medicine would be revoked and their family members' jobs would be affected." I'm sure that this kind of thing will not happen in Germany and UK. It's not really the handling of the virus situation, it's his realisation that he's living in a totalitarian state that he's writing about.

_bxg1 7y ago
* it's his realization that the totalitarian state he's living in isn't worth the supposed benefits

esyir 7y ago

I think over in Singapore, it was handled pretty well.

lokedhs 7y ago
I live in Singapore, and so far they have indeed handled it quite well. What is really needed in a situation like this is transparency, and they are providing this: https://www.moh.gov.sg/ https://www.moh.gov.sg/ They are also doing very good work when it comes to tracing cases and determining who has been in contact with them and ensuring that they are also tested. There are special clinics set up where people with symptoms can go. This is to avoid having patients infect every single clinic all over the country. In places where people gather, such as office buildings, there are temperature screenings, typically using IR cameras. I read somewhere that these catch about 50% of cases. If you're a visitor to an office building, you have to sign a health declaration form, including contact information and declare where in the building you will be going. This information is used if a case is discovered and they need to trace who has been in contact with the patient. When you take a taxi you are adviced to go to a web site where you can fill in your contact information as well as the license plate number of the taxi. This is again used for tracing if needed. Some companies have implemented work-from-home policies where the teams are split with half the team working from home. This is done because if a case is discovered in a company, everybody will evacuate, tracing will be done on all people and the entire office sanitised. If only half the team was in the office at the time, this reduces the impact on the business. For the most part, except the things mentioned above, things are pretty normal. There are of course less tourists, and a lot of businesses are hurting because of that. Singapore usually has a lot of Chinese tourists. People are of course hoping that things will be better soon. I didn't live in Singapore during SARS, but I have been told that it lasted several months.