Countries that were an example in the fight against covid-19, now face new outbreaks

The new coronavirus outbreak that worries Australia 0:51

(CNN) –– The United States has been widely criticized for the way it has faced the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, the lack of strict national measures to contain the outbreak is reflected in the fact that it accumulates the highest number of cases and deaths worldwide.

However, even countries praised for their quick and effective responses to covid-19 are now seeing large outbreaks and resurgences of the virus, as it becomes clear that success in their containment is often only temporary.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong was recognized for its swift response in January, when it implemented measures such as virus mapping, social distancing, encouraging handwashing and other protective actions.

• MIRA: What is the second wave of covid-19 and how feasible is it to occur?

The government took additional steps to curb a second wave in March, when Hong Kong residents began to return to the city and carried the virus with them. Authorities banned non-residents from entering, stopped traffic through the city's airport, and implemented strict quarantines and tests upon arrival.

Gyms were closed, the sale of alcohol in bars was banned, and restaurants and cafes suspended their service or implemented additional security measures.

For many weeks, daily coronavirus cases were reduced to single digits and sometimes zero.

• READ: Two weeks of zero local infections: that's how Hong Kong contained its second wave of covid-19

Despite all this, the semi-autonomous region has faced a "third wave" of infections since July 6, while the authorities warn of a possible "exponential growth" in the cases.

This Friday, the city confirmed 123 new cases, the largest increase in a single day since the pandemic began, according to health officials. Public meetings were again limited to just four people after the maximum had risen to 50, gyms were closed, and now entering travelers must show evidence of a negative test.

The city ordered the mandatory use of face masks for the first time, although many of its citizens wore them anyway.

"If this trend continues, [it will be] very difficult to handle the situation," said Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Hong Kong Center for Health Protection, noting that the city's testing capacity, testing facilities, quarantine and hospital capacity were reaching the limit. In total, Hong Kong has reported 2,372 cases of covid-19, and people are now being urged to stay home.

Australia

Australia was another country considered an example in its response to the pandemic.

On February 1, Australia joined the United States in the decision to close its borders to foreign visitors who were recently in China. As the virus spread, the country banned entry from Iran, South Korea, and Italy in early March, before closing its borders to all non-citizens and non-residents on March 19.

• MIRA: As parts of Australia close again, what hope is there for the rest of the world?

The country banned public meetings and non-essential travel as part of a series of restrictions in late March, and for a time, the outbreak was widely considered under control.

A spokesman for the Australian Department of Health said in a statement sent to CNN in early May that the curve of cases and new infections had "flattened out."

Medical personnel with personal protective equipment enter the floors of Flemington public housing in Melbourne, Australia, after 9 on-site complexes were confined.

On May 8, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a plan to reopen the country in July, as the government began to reduce social distancing measures and the country's reported cases were nearly 7,000, with 97 deaths.

"The next step beyond this will be to build confidence and the momentum that will bring our economy back to recovery and Australians to stand up and move forward with confidence," Morrison said.

Dr. William Haseltine, president of the ACCESS Health International expert center, showed Australia as an example for the United States. He said the nation, along with China and New Zealand, had effectively dealt with severe outbreaks of coronavirus, and through testing, contact tracing and clear guidelines, cases were reduced to single digits.

But then, the country was forced to isolate 6.6 million people in the state of Victoria on July 7, after an outbreak of the virus in the city of Melbourne.

The border between Victoria and New South Wales - the two most populous states in Australia - was closed for the first time, confinement was re-imposed and masks have been mandatory since last weekend. Buying food, exercising, and going to work and caring are the only exceptions to the order of confinement in and around Melbourne.

Australia was once a success story, but the border between New South Wales and Victoria has now been closed after cases skyrocketed in the latter state.

Victoria registered 403 new cases of covid-19 on Wednesday, according to Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Andrews. The figure represents the third-biggest daily increase in infections since the pandemic began, slightly below Tuesday's record: 484 new cases. Australia now accumulates more than 13,000 cases and 140 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Japan

Japan also appeared to respond effectively to the coronavirus.

On May 25, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the state of emergency and held a briefing that could "end the outbreak in about a month and a half in the manner of Japan." He added that the nation would gradually increase social and economic activities to create a "new life" with the coronavirus.

Parents and children enter a pool open to a limited number of visitors as a preventative measure against coronavirus at Toshimaen Amusement Park in Tokyo on July 13.

Commercial and social activities began to revive and the Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, indicated that museums and sports facilities would reopen under conditions of security, as well as schooling would be gradually reintroduced.

The Japanese government even launched a new travel initiative to encourage domestic travel.

But since then the contagions began to increase, and Japan registered its highest number of daily cases with 981 this Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health, in addition to two deaths. The total number of infected people in Japan now stands at almost 29,000, with 994 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

Several prefectures with the largest cities reported record numbers on Thursday.

• READ: Why a second confinement by coronavirus could be worse than the first and how to prevent it?

The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, reported a maximum of 366 new cases of covid-19: it was the first time that the 300 mark was exceeded. According to Koike, 60% of patients are between 20 and 30 years old.

Last week, the government announced it would suspend travel to Tokyo from the new travel program, noting that city residents would also be excluded.

New research from Japan suggests that many outbreaks of coronavirus outside hospitals may have started with people younger than 40 or not feeling sick, underscoring the importance of measures, such as face masks, to delay the spread.

Israel

For months, Israel also seemed to be an international model of how to successfully stop the coronavirus.

With travel restrictions implemented early and radical closings, the nation largely contained the spread of the virus. Thus, it registered a mortality rate that was much better than that of multiple countries in the western world. As the coronavirus ravaged the U.S. and Europe, Israel moved toward reopening.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held routine press conferences on this success, while warning of new challenges and taking credit for the victories.

On April 18, almost exactly two months after Israel confirmed his first case, Netanyahu stated that the country had succeeded in its fight, setting a global example "to safeguard life and block the outbreak of the pandemic." The president predicted that Israel would also set an example by restarting its economy.

But the second wave that your health experts are now signaling seems to be heading towards a very different ending.

Just weeks after reviving restaurants, shopping malls and beaches, Israel experienced a 50-fold increase in coronavirus cases, from approximately 20 new infections per day in mid-May to more than 1,000 less than two months later.

In early July, Netanyahu announced that gyms, pools, event rooms, bars, and more would be closed indefinitely, while restaurants and places of worship would operate with a limited number of people. Desperate to avoid complete confinement amid unemployment of more than 20%, the prime minister issued a stern warning.

"All citizens of Israel know, or need to understand, that we must now take limited measures, with the least possible economic impact, to avoid those extreme actions that will paralyze the economy," he warned.

But on July 17, Israel again imposed a series of strict measures, which brought the country closer to a second full shutdown, as the cases reached another daily record. The government announced that restaurants would be limited to take-out or delivery, meetings would have a maximum of 10 people inside, and stores, malls, museums, and lounges would close on weekends. Starting this Friday, the beaches will also close on weekends.

This Thursday, Israel reached a new record of 1,819 new cases in 24 hours. The previous maximum of 1,758 was set a day earlier.

During a cabinet meeting that day, Netanyahu warned: "We are doing everything possible to avoid general confinement ... We do not have many options; it is not a normal situation. This is not a situation in which we can do all these processes that take days and hope that everything is fine. The disease is changing its speed and we must change along with it. ”

Public confidence in Netanyahu's handling of the pandemic is rapidly fading. From a peak of 73% in mid-May, when the country appeared to have covid-19 under control, its approval rating has plummeted to 46%, according to surveys conducted by Channel 12 News.

Israel's top public health official, Professor Siegal Sadetzki, resigned and wrote on Facebook: “I regret that, for several weeks, the management of the outbreak has lost direction. Despite the systematic and regular warnings in the various systems and in the discussions in different forums, we are watching with frustration as the window of opportunity runs out. ”

Demonstrations outside Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence have grown in size and frequency, as people protest against corruption, as well as the government's handling of the pandemic and its serious economic impact.

Germany

Europe's example of how to handle a pandemic has been in rough water in recent weeks.

In March, when more than 4% of coronavirus patients died worldwide, the covid-19 death rate in Germany was only 0.4%.

Over the months that followed, the country seemed to thwart the outbreak, thanks to its swift response, massive testing, and Chancellor Angela Merkel's calm and clear communication of what was at stake.

Merkel announced plans to gradually reopen the country. But new outbreaks soon followed the relief of the confinement, with an increase of 900 cases in one day in May and a series of groups registered in slaughterhouses.

In June, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia imposed a new blockade around a meat processing factory after more than 1,000 workers tested positive.

Authorities recorded 955 new cases last Friday, the highest number since early May, according to its disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute.

Germany's economy minister, Peter Altmaier, called the number "alarming" in a Twitter post, "especially since it is not about large 'highlands', but smaller groups of infections. The main risks must be clearly mentioned so that it becomes the most specific prevention possible, "he added.

The latest increase has been attributed to stricter enforcement of distancing and hygiene rules, as well as to travelers returning from abroad, prompting the Ministry of Health to offer free coronavirus testing to travelers entering the country. The tests will be mandatory for those returning from high-risk countries.

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Vietnam

The country of 97 million people lifted the rules on social distancing in April after a three-week national shutdown.

Vietnam's initial success in containing the virus was thanks to an aggressive early-detection strategy for passengers at airports along with a strict quarantine and monitoring program.

It began preparing for the outbreak weeks before its first case was detected, and after confirming the first coronavirus cases, authorities quickly took proactive action, implementing the first large-scale blockade outside of China in February.

However, after nearly 100 days without cases, Vietnam last month experienced its biggest spike in infections in a single day since the pandemic hit the country in late January.

Three residents contracted the virus in the central city of Da Nang, prompting the government to evacuate some 80,000 tourists from the area, suspend national flights to the city, and reimpose social distancing measures.

Infections have continued to rise and last week the country reported its first death from coronavirus. Vietnam now has 642 confirmed cases and six deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of Monday, a total of 103,268 people who have had close contact with patients or who came from areas affected by a pandemic have been quarantined, according to Vietnam's state news agency.

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It is not an exact science

Concerns are increasing in the rest of the world. On July 1, people in the Czech Republic's capital Prague built a 487-meter table and held a large public dinner to celebrate the end of the confinement with the coronavirus.

The country imposed strict rules early on, while masks became mandatory for all those in the public space starting March 19.

But an increase in cases during the relaxation of restrictions has caused certain measures to be re-imposed. Czechs will again have to wear face masks at all indoor events with more than 100 people, including weddings and funerals, starting this Saturday. All these meetings will be limited to 500 people, compared to the 1,000 previously planned, announced on Friday the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic.

In Prague, people must wear face masks again in all medical facilities, including doctor's offices and pharmacies. People still have masks on the subway, the city said. The country has now reported 14,800 cases and 365 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

While the numbers of new cases remain low in many of these countries compared to nations where the pandemic is rampant - like the US and Brazil - experts say the recent increase in infections shows that Despite the strictest anti-epidemic controls, the virus still poses a threat.

And since social distancing and behavioral changes are not rocket science, revivals insist that completely eradicating risk may be impossible until a vaccine is found. And therefore the waves of infection and new blockages will continue.

Vanessa Yung, Isaac Yee, Angus Watson, Sol Han, Yoko Wakatsuki, Junko Ogura, Kaori Enjoji, Tomas Etzler, Ivana Kottasova and Oren Liebermann, all from CNN, contributed reporting.

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