[News] Chile included: the best and worst countries to experience the pandemic

[FNX Magokiler]

After more than nine months of pandemic, it seems clear that while there is no magic formula to stop the coronavirus, there are countries that have done better than others.

Some nations already enjoy relative normality after applying strict measures, while others repeat lockdowns in the face of a second and even third wave, such as the United States.

According to the financial services company Bloomberg, there is no better place to pass the pandemic than New Zealand and there is no worse than Mexico.

This was concluded after organizing 53 countries and identifying in which of them the pandemic is best experienced by analyzing health and socioeconomic markers.

At BBC Mundo, we review Bloomberg's Resilience against Covid-19 classification and explain its methodology.

Health situation and quality of life
For reasons of "conciseness," Bloomberg limited the ranking to countries whose economies are worth more than $ 200 billion.

In total, they analyzed the performance of 53 countries, including Latin American Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

Bloomberg valued the nations according to 10 parameters separated into two sections.

The first section deals with the health situation and considers the incidence of cases and deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in a month, the total deaths per million inhabitants, the percentage of positive tests and access to vaccines.

The second section assesses the quality of life and measures the restriction of confinement, citizen mobility, the prospects for economic growth in 2020, health access and the human development index.

The company clarified that the positions of the list could change and be updated, but ensures that the gap between the countries that head and end the classification is very likely to persist.

The most outstanding
Jacinda Arden's government in New Zealand has been praised for its strategy in the face of the pandemic and this country is at the top of the Bloomberg list.

 

 

It should be noted that all countries, except China, project falls or zero growth in GDP.

New Zealand reacted quickly to the first cases of coronavirus and closed its borders to control the epidemic and prevent imported cases.

In addition, it developed an aggressive test and trace program and a clear and effective communication strategy.

New Zealand has virtually eradicated the disease and life has returned to considerable normality within its borders.

Above 80 points, after New Zealand, follow Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, Norway, Australia and China, in that order.

Asian countries, in general, also reacted quickly, confining areas with the highest incidence of infections and deploying a powerful strategy of tracking, mass tests and quarantines.

This has allowed them to considerably recover and even maintain various social activities compared to other regions of the world.

The Asians who top the ranking also have a high human development index and outstanding access to health.

For their part, Finland and Norway quickly closed their borders in March and until today the restrictions to enter these countries last, which is allowing them to fight the violence of the second wave that is shaking much of continental Europe.

The worst on the list
The last place is occupied by Mexico, which with more than 100,000 deaths is the fourth country with the most deaths after India, Brazil and the United States.

Mexico has the worst percentage of positivity per test and also the worst mortality rate in the last month. Her total average was 37.6 points.

At the bottom of the classification are immediately Peru and Argentina, with 41.1 and 41.6 points respectively.

Colombia also entered the worst 10 with 48.1 points and Chile ranks 38th with 55.9.

Latin American countries have some of the worst death rates per million inhabitants despite strict national confinements, border closures and night curfews.

In addition, they are also among the countries that will suffer the most from the economic blow. Especially Peru, which with a drop of 13.9% in GDP experiences the worst economic projection on the list.

Other considerations
The United States is the country with the most deaths and cases of coronavirus in the world. In total, as of November 25, almost 260,000 people have died and more than 12 million have been infected.

However, it occupies the 18th position due especially to a high human development index and remarkable access to healthcare.

On the other hand, when Bloomberg included only 53 countries, some nations that stood out in their fight against the pandemic and that until November 25 maintained relatively low levels of infection were left out of the analysis.

This is the case of Costa Rica and Uruguay, for example, whose cases were covered by BBC Mundo in these notes.