How prepared for pandemic are different cities globally?
Cities such as Taipei, Singapore and Hangzhou based their response on knowledge gained from dealing with previous epidemics and rapidly put in place measures such as isolation and social distancing, clear communication efforts and proactive surveillance – a difficult prospect for many Western cities.
Authorities in Singapore, for example, acted very quickly to trace back suspected contacts of the first patients, and offer widespread and freely available testing, with capacity to test more than 2,000 people a day. Furthermore, around 5,000 people – mainly close contacts of patients – have been isolated.