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Looking back at the strategies that different countries have pursued over the last year, the most effective strategy has undoubtedly been to implement a strict

Looking back at the strategies that different countries have pursued over the last year, the most effective strategy has undoubtedly been to implement a strict lockdown for several weeks, nearly completely eliminating the virus, and then following up with aggressive contact-tracing whenever any case pops up. Countries that have done this have had far fewer deaths and have suffered less economically. The alternatives (doing nothing, implementing mild restrictions, or implementing strict lockdowns but opening up too early and failing to follow up) have all been far worse, in terms of both lives and money.

tinus_hn 6y ago
No, the only solution that has worked is being an isolated nation and blocking international travel from the beginning. For 90% of countries that was never an option anyway and for most of the rest that ship has long sailed. The countries that have tried, like Israel, have seen so much success with that strategy they are now in their third lockdown. And that’s with the best vaccination numbers of the world.
- helge9210 6y ago
  Israel is not a good example. Lockdown application here is very uneven. They have nothing to do with the virus and are mainly used by politicians in power to suppress secular way of life and to redistribute business opportunities.
  - tinus_hn 6y ago
    Ah, so the no true lockdown isn’t strict enough.
    - mcguire 6y ago
      "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."
    - DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
      "Lockdown" can mean anything from closing pubs to mandating that nearly everyone stay home 24/7. There's no great mystery here. The virus primarily spreads in indoor settings where people breath the same air. A lockdown is only effective to the extent that it stops people from getting into those situations. Closing pubs will reduce transmission a bit, but not nearly as much as telling everyone to stay home.
  - JamisonM 6y ago
    The poster is not engaged in a good faith argument so there isn't much point in explaining these sorts of details. My observation has been that in Canada and the UK any sort of selective or regional restrictions have been extremely ineffective and they offer evidence to people who would like to make bad-faith arguments about the power of restrictions. My opinion is that two things appear to work to get you manageable levels of COVID-19. The first is broad restrictive measures over very large geographical areas that actually reduce time indoors with other people and compel mask use (some of the Canadian provinces did this well). The second is simply letting the epidemic reach levels that scare people into changing their behaviour (many US states).
- jessaustin 6y ago
  ...best vaccination numbers of the world. That's for Jewish residents. Apartheid states direct all benefits to the favored class. That works, until pandemic time. Palestinians are human too, and since they haven't been vaccinated at all they are a persistent source of covid.
  - yyyk 6y ago
    Arab residents also counted and vaccinated. The BBC had to apologize twice for that calumny. https://www.bbc.co.uk/helpandfeedback/corrections_clarifications https://www.bbc.co.uk/helpandfeedback/corrections_clarificat...
    - jessaustin 6y ago
      The only apology on that page is for playing a recording of a foreign language that contained some sort of homophobic slur. On the topic at hand, it has this: We note that whilst there has been some dispute about the Israeli government’s responsibility for vaccinating Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, those Palestinians who live in East Jerusalem, or who hold Israeli citizenship, are covered by the roll-out of the government’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. That is, the Israel government only claims that a small minority of the Palestinians subject to its tyranny will be vaccinated. We may expect that claim will also turn out to be mostly false.
      - yyyk 6y ago
        That's the entire point - that Israel vaccinates its citizens regardless of ethnicity, and the data doesn't exclude non-Jews. As for the West Bank, the article itself notes the legal responsibility is 'disputed', that is nobody save some activists thinks there's one - which is why no state in the planet has called Israel to take over West Bank or Gaza healthcare. Even the Palestinian Authority (which has ordered the Sputnik V) hasn't called for it or asked for aid. Apparently some people feel Israel should still just take over despite their own wishes! That's an enticing prospect to a Israelis of a certain political bent... P.S. One fact to note - Israel's COVID statistics are significantly worse. The idea apparently is to redirect vaccination from where there's a barely contained outbreak to a place where there isn't.
- DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
  China went from having a serious outbreak to essentially zero new cases in just over two months. Australia, Vietnam and New Zealand also brought new cases essentially to nil.

tinus_hn 6y ago

No, the only solution that has worked is being an isolated nation and blocking international travel from the beginning. For 90% of countries that was never an option anyway and for most of the rest that ship has long sailed. The countries that have tried, like Israel, have seen so much success with that strategy they are now in their third lockdown. And that’s with the best vaccination numbers of the world.

helge9210 6y ago
Israel is not a good example. Lockdown application here is very uneven. They have nothing to do with the virus and are mainly used by politicians in power to suppress secular way of life and to redistribute business opportunities.
- tinus_hn 6y ago
  Ah, so the no true lockdown isn’t strict enough.
  - mcguire 6y ago
    "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."
  - DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
    "Lockdown" can mean anything from closing pubs to mandating that nearly everyone stay home 24/7. There's no great mystery here. The virus primarily spreads in indoor settings where people breath the same air. A lockdown is only effective to the extent that it stops people from getting into those situations. Closing pubs will reduce transmission a bit, but not nearly as much as telling everyone to stay home.
- JamisonM 6y ago
  The poster is not engaged in a good faith argument so there isn't much point in explaining these sorts of details. My observation has been that in Canada and the UK any sort of selective or regional restrictions have been extremely ineffective and they offer evidence to people who would like to make bad-faith arguments about the power of restrictions. My opinion is that two things appear to work to get you manageable levels of COVID-19. The first is broad restrictive measures over very large geographical areas that actually reduce time indoors with other people and compel mask use (some of the Canadian provinces did this well). The second is simply letting the epidemic reach levels that scare people into changing their behaviour (many US states).
jessaustin 6y ago
...best vaccination numbers of the world. That's for Jewish residents. Apartheid states direct all benefits to the favored class. That works, until pandemic time. Palestinians are human too, and since they haven't been vaccinated at all they are a persistent source of covid.
- yyyk 6y ago
  Arab residents also counted and vaccinated. The BBC had to apologize twice for that calumny. https://www.bbc.co.uk/helpandfeedback/corrections_clarifications https://www.bbc.co.uk/helpandfeedback/corrections_clarificat...
  - jessaustin 6y ago
    The only apology on that page is for playing a recording of a foreign language that contained some sort of homophobic slur. On the topic at hand, it has this: We note that whilst there has been some dispute about the Israeli government’s responsibility for vaccinating Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, those Palestinians who live in East Jerusalem, or who hold Israeli citizenship, are covered by the roll-out of the government’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. That is, the Israel government only claims that a small minority of the Palestinians subject to its tyranny will be vaccinated. We may expect that claim will also turn out to be mostly false.
    - yyyk 6y ago
      That's the entire point - that Israel vaccinates its citizens regardless of ethnicity, and the data doesn't exclude non-Jews. As for the West Bank, the article itself notes the legal responsibility is 'disputed', that is nobody save some activists thinks there's one - which is why no state in the planet has called Israel to take over West Bank or Gaza healthcare. Even the Palestinian Authority (which has ordered the Sputnik V) hasn't called for it or asked for aid. Apparently some people feel Israel should still just take over despite their own wishes! That's an enticing prospect to a Israelis of a certain political bent... P.S. One fact to note - Israel's COVID statistics are significantly worse. The idea apparently is to redirect vaccination from where there's a barely contained outbreak to a place where there isn't.
DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
China went from having a serious outbreak to essentially zero new cases in just over two months. Australia, Vietnam and New Zealand also brought new cases essentially to nil.