Scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa called the belated response of some countries to COVID-19 as a major mistake, as a result of which the death rate in these countries was higher than in others. This is reported in an article published in PLOS ONE magazine. Briefly about the scientific work is described in the press release on MedicalXpress.
Researchers examined data on mortality among patients with SARS-CoV-2 in 50 European countries. This made it possible to associate the date of reaching the number of the first cases of one hundred people, starting from January 22, 2020, with the overall mortality rate from coronavirus. It turned out that in those countries where a hundred cases were recorded earlier (in less than 50 days), the situation with the spread of the pandemic and the death rate ultimately turned out to be worse.
Scientists estimate that early efforts to stem the spread of the virus could have saved 30 lives per million people a day. This would be due to the fact that the adoption of measures dramatically reduces the number of viruses circulating among the inhabitants of the country.
Earlier it was reported that scientists in the United States and Germany have found that the use of bidirectional contact tracing can significantly reduce the likelihood of transmission of the virus.