> would you conclude that they must have started taking the necessary precautions? Well funny you asked, because this is exactly what has been happening. Much

> would you conclude that they must have started taking the necessary precautions? Well funny you asked, because this is exactly what has been happening. Much like in the US, due to the double-down on the president's part on his "just a little flu" characterization of covid, brazilian regional governments are taking matters into their own hands. So we can expect a similar curve as the US, as state measures slowly kick into full gear to contain the spread and as people scramble to deal with the economic impact in their lives, negating the impact of policies. We're seeing poorer areas getting impacted more severely, much like it has been documented in the US as well. On a more general level, it isn't particularly relevant what factors might be a confirmation or refutation of a claim in a hypothetical scenario, because by definition, hypotheticals are not data. Of course, if hypothetically, the US suddenly registered a dramatic decrease in new cases of Covid without any intentional changes in containment strategy, then it would behoove to re-evaluate previous assumptions and policies. But since that hasn't happened, we make judgments based on what we see is actually happening worldwide instead. As for the definition of "necessary precautions", my understanding is that it's not some nebulous handwaving, but rather, it's the WHO guidelines that everyone references.