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>> "If flights from China were halted, Matt asked, could America have more time to prepare? Paul was hesitant. Like most public-health practitioners, he held t

>> "If flights from China were halted, Matt asked, could America have more time to prepare? Paul was hesitant. Like most public-health practitioners, he held that travel bans often have unintended consequences. They stigmatize countries contending with contagion. Doctors and medical equipment must be able to move around. And, by the time restrictions are put in place, the disease has usually infiltrated the border anyway, making the whole exercise pointless" Except Australia and New Zealand have shown that is not really true. If you shut the border early enough and police it well enough, you can suppress the virus. The idea that doctors can't travel doesn't have to be true. Put them in hotel quarantine for 14 days on arrival and then get them to work. 14 days on the way back too. All too often I hear problems(excuses truly) as to why something can't be done. But with additional planning and willpower (and not just rolling over) it can be.

adolph 6y ago
If I recall correctly, the initial US infections came from Europe not China, so Paul's hesitance to a China-specific travel ban wasn't a bad call. Island and smaller nations have some capabilities as far as population movement controls that the big ones don't have or can't sustain for as long. Eventually COVID will come for all, suppression strategies only allow a nation to adjust the timeline. This study shows an unexpected very early circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic individuals in Italy several months before the first patient was identified, and clarifies the onset and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Finding SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in asymptomatic people before the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy may reshape the history of pandemic. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33176598/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33176598/
- cameldrv 6y ago
  China itself is neither an island nation nor small, and it has managed to prevent further large outbreaks. This probably would not be possible if not for travel restrictions and strict infection control at the border (test before boarding, 14 day quarantine, test after quarantine). Essentially all countries that have kept COVID in check have similar testing and quarantine policies. This is a reasonable alternative to closing the border entirely, but it was never taken up by the U.S.
  - adolph 6y ago
    Great point about China. Pandemic suppression is probably a cinch for repressive totalitarian regimes willing to weld bars over apartment doors for quarantine and imprison medical professionals to control information.
    - JimTheMan 6y ago
      And yet 2000-3000 people die a day in the US. Surely more can be done... It feels like those in the US are unwilling to make hard changes for the common good, be self critical and admit failure.

adolph 6y ago

If I recall correctly, the initial US infections came from Europe not China, so Paul's hesitance to a China-specific travel ban wasn't a bad call. Island and smaller nations have some capabilities as far as population movement controls that the big ones don't have or can't sustain for as long. Eventually COVID will come for all, suppression strategies only allow a nation to adjust the timeline. This study shows an unexpected very early circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic individuals in Italy several months before the first patient was identified, and clarifies the onset and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Finding SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in asymptomatic people before the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy may reshape the history of pandemic. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33176598/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33176598/

cameldrv 6y ago
China itself is neither an island nation nor small, and it has managed to prevent further large outbreaks. This probably would not be possible if not for travel restrictions and strict infection control at the border (test before boarding, 14 day quarantine, test after quarantine). Essentially all countries that have kept COVID in check have similar testing and quarantine policies. This is a reasonable alternative to closing the border entirely, but it was never taken up by the U.S.
- adolph 6y ago
  Great point about China. Pandemic suppression is probably a cinch for repressive totalitarian regimes willing to weld bars over apartment doors for quarantine and imprison medical professionals to control information.
  - JimTheMan 6y ago
    And yet 2000-3000 people die a day in the US. Surely more can be done... It feels like those in the US are unwilling to make hard changes for the common good, be self critical and admit failure.