Information is critical to slowing a pandemic. Here’s what health officials should be telling us.
The fight against the new coronavirus requires many things — test kits, ventilators, indefatigable health workers, and good leadership from Washington — but one simple and critical ingredient is information. How many people have been tested? How many are infected? Where do those people live and work? How many have died? How many are critically ill or recovering? How did they acquire COVID-19?
Some of the most successful campaigns against COVID-19 have been waged by countries that collect, utilize, and publicly provide accurate and up to date data. The Singapore Ministry of Health coronavirus dashboard conveys granular detail about the disease. The most remarkable figure on that dashboard, as of March 12, is “Deaths: 0.” The Government of Singapore has used information to identify and isolate infected people quickly and to encourage public vigilance. South Korea has focused on collecting information with a massive testing campaign, early detection and treatment, and making detailed information about the disease public to encourage social distancing and public awareness. Though almost 8,000 South Koreans are confirmed to have COVID-19, only 66 of them have died thus far (a very low case fatality rate compared to other countries).
Source: politico.com
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