Experts from the Russian Higher School of Economics, one of the country's main scientific and educational centers, conducted a study of the response of states to the coronavirus threat. Only countries with a population of over 10 million people with a developed economy, as well as with a number of cases of more than 5 thousand people (according to statistics as of mid-June 2020) were taken into account.
In general, 48 countries were sampled, in which 82.5% of the world's population lives. All these data were obtained from official sources, primarily from their own statistical agencies in different countries.
Criteria for creating a list of countries for the effectiveness of the fight against COVID-19
HSE experts evaluated countries according to three criteria: medical, social, and economic.
- Medical.
Describes how effectively the country's health care system manages to withstand the viral threat. Statistical indicators were taken into account - the number of hospital beds, the number of doctors and nurses per 100 thousand people, how many tests were carried out, how many cases of infection were detected, as well as the most important indicator - the overall mortality from the virus. - Social.
According to this criterion, it is assessed how much the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the quality of life of ordinary citizens, primarily in terms of jobs and wages. How did the employment of people change, how much sales decreased (or increased) during the epidemic, whether there were fluctuations in drug prices, and how effectively the education system was able to reorganize itself for distance learning. - Economic.
Has the country's economy coped with the shocks caused by the coronavirus? How much money from the budget was allocated to compensate for the consequences of the virus? How badly was the transport network, including the aviation one, damaged? And, finally, a criterion, somewhat unexpected for non-economists, is whether the average speed of mobile Internet has changed.
True, according to some indicators, the number of participating countries is less than the total: for some of them, data could not be found, and some states do not seek to advertise the results of the rampant coronavirus in their country. And since the pandemic continues, and there is no end in sight, the end results may differ from the picture described in the study.
Top ten countries in terms of the effectiveness of countering coronavirus
10. Canada
Points: 63
To date, the total number of infected in Canada has exceeded 110 thousand people. The French-speaking province of Quebec has suffered the most (more than 57 thousand cases). The mortality rate from the virus is still high - more than 7.92% of diseases are fatal. Like the United States, Canada, from the point of view of HSE experts, is sagging in terms of medical and social ratings, but from the point of view of economic safety it is doing well (sixth place).
9.Sweden
Points: 64
One of the few countries that decided not to take tough measures to combat the Wuhan coronavirus.Unless she forbade her citizens to gather more than 50 people at a time. According to the Swedish Minister of Health, it is enough to wash your hands and maintain social distance - and everything will be fine. Swedish doctors relied on the development of immunity, which in the future was supposed to protect the inhabitants of this Scandinavian country from the viral threat.
As a result, Sweden began to lead in the number of cases among neighboring countries. And now commissions are being created there to determine who is to blame and what to do. Thanks to this original approach, Sweden is at the very bottom of the ranking in terms of medical indicators; she managed to get into the top ten only due to high indicators in social sphere (second place) and economic (slightly ahead of Russia).
8. France
Points: 67
France was one of the first countries to experience the impact of COVID-19. Now the country's government is tensely awaiting the second coming of microscopic enemies.
Perhaps in August, the French will have to go into quarantine again. Since February, more than 178 thousand people have been ill in the country, of which more than 30 thousand have died.
7.Russia
Points: 68
In terms of medical indicators, our country is in sixth place in the top ten countries best fighting coronavirus. But economically - only at the twelfth, and socially sags to the 18th.
In addition to the remnants of the Soviet healthcare system, which provided the country with a high place in the "medical" rating, Russia was lucky that the coronavirus was brought to us only by the beginning of March. And the first case of transmission of the virus from a Russian to a Russian happened only on March 11. So the doctors had time to prepare. But do not relax: at the moment, as many as nine unique strains of the virus circulate through the territory of the Russian Federation, which are not found anywhere in the world.
As for the social rating, thanks to the timely taken measures of state support, the employment market was kept more or less in a viable form. About a million jobs have disappeared and this is not much on a national scale. Better only in some countries of Western Europe and Poland. But with the consumer basket, everything is bad. People began to buy less, which indicates a decrease in household income.
6. Austria
Points: 70
One of the first countries to lift restrictions on the movement of citizens, and it opened its borders at the very beginning of June. However, the happiness did not last long: as in many other European countries, the coronavirus went second round.
Therefore, the Austrian government decided to re-oblige its citizens to wear masks, and also banned the entry of residents of the Balkans into Austria (there is now an outbreak of an epidemic). At the moment, the number of cases during the entire period of the epidemic in Austria amounted to 19 thousand people, of whom 700 died.
5. Germany
Points: 73
Germany had time to prepare for the epidemic. According to experts, the low mortality rate from the virus is explained by the timely measures taken to support the elderly.
The Germans also managed to maintain the standard of living of their citizens at an almost pre-epidemic level. In terms of social indicators, Germany and Sweden are in the lead, ahead of other countries by more than 5 points. Since the beginning of the year, more than 200 thousand people have been ill with coronavirus in the country, of which just over 9 thousand have died.
4. Czech Republic
Points: 74
One of the lucky countries, where the virus came only in March. It seemed that the spread of the virus in the Czech Republic was stopped, but at the end of July, COVID-19 seemed to find a second wind, and the second wave of the epidemic began.
Some parts of the country (for example, the Moravian-Silesian Region) had to be quarantined. In total, more than 14 thousand people have been infected since March, 364 died.
3. Japan
Points: 74
Although there are more elderly people in the Land of the Rising Sun than in any other country in the world, their mortality from COVID-19 is very low. The Japanese even decided not to conduct large-scale testing and abandoned quarantine.
The country's deputy prime minister claims that the reason is in the special moral qualities of the Japanese.Sociologists believe that social distancing was inherent in Japanese culture, which helped prevent the outbreak of the virus. And doctors think that the Japanese (like many other residents of Southeast Asia) have had similar viruses several times, which left its mark on the immunity of the population.
2. Poland
Points: 75
Surprisingly, the second place among the leading countries in the fight against coronavirus was the country of the former Soviet bloc. By all three indicators, the republic was in the top five.
In addition to its own citizens, Poland extends a helping hand to Ukraine and Moldova, sending several trucks with medical supplies, protective masks, overalls and other necessary things to these countries.
1. Australia
Points: 78
Australia is best coping with the advent of coronavirus. This country is consistently among the top five in all three indicators. True, in early July, the Australians experienced another outbreak of the virus, which prompted a decision by the authorities to close the borders between the country's two most populated states - New South Wales and Victoria.
And Melbourne was quarantined altogether, and its five million population will have to stay at home for at least a month. Will Australia be able to maintain its leadership? Time will tell.
Countries outside the coronavirus ranking
Worst of all, according to HSE experts, the coronavirus affected Chile, Peru and Iraq. All three countries are in last place with the same total score: 24.
Interestingly, some countries leading in one indicator lag behind in others, which cannot but affect the consolidated rating of countries in terms of the effectiveness of the fight against coronavirus. The most striking example is the United States.
According to HSE experts, the stronghold of world democracy has managed to keep its economic system completely intact. He is by a large margin ahead of the second leader of the "economic" rating, the Czech Republic.
However, in terms of other indicators - medical and social - the United States is not doing so well. The worst situation is in medicine, according to this criterion, the United States occupies the sixth place from the bottom, overtaking only South Africa, Armenia, Peru, Brazil and Chile. It looks like the health insurance system was not as effective as expected.
It is worth adding that the data that served as the basis for the study dates from mid-June 2020. Since then, the spread of the 2019-ncoV virus could have changed dramatically. Many European countries, after the opening of borders, are beginning to experience a second wave of coronavirus. And how much it will affect the overall picture is still unknown.