New Zealand has only 1 Covid-19 death. Here's what they're doing

The United States and Italy have been playing catch up in the mitigation of the coronavirus pandemic and were resistant to implementing social distancing, while other countries took more aggressive approaches. Now both countries are looking to China and South Korea to learn how sweeping actions and industrialized scaling of measures such as fever clinics, temperature check points, portable CAT scanning, and social isolation, have helped to contain the pandemic.

After an initial sharp spike in positive COVID-19 cases, South Korea kept the number of deaths low and stopped the virus from spreading dramatically, without resorting to the same draconian isolation measures in other countries like China. To do so, the government of South Korea relied on its strong national health service, learned from prior virus outbreaks, executed an aggressive strategy of testing, and enforced social distancing and treatment protocols.

Although many hesitate to applaud Singapore's efforts in containing the coronavirus pandemic due to the aggressive measures taken, the country's methodology has shown success. Based on "scientific knowledge, empirical data and medical research," the country has implemented measures such as contact tracing, stay-home orders, hygiene campaigns, and monetary bonuses for health care workers, all of which work to slow the spread of the virus.

As California’s Bay Area is weeks into its shelter-in-place order – the first in the nation – experts are seeing indications that it’s working in the fight against COVID19, but at the same time needs to continue. Health officials are seeing signs that the increase of cases could be flattening, which was the goal of social distancing, and has been giving the area more time to prepare for a spike, which other experts say is inevitable. Either way, the stay-at-home mandate is helping reduce strain on the healthcare system.

As the coronavirus death toll increases, churches and funeral homes are trying to quickly adapt to ways to create space for grieving while also abiding by mandated limits on the size of group gatherings. Some have implemented aggressive sanitation and social distancing routines while others are utilizing technology and broadcasting the service over online ­conference-meeting applications.

Vietnam's approach to handling the Covid-19 pandemic prioritized prevention over eradication which, so far, has helped the country avoid virus-caused deaths. Although the restriction in places, such as quarantine facilities, are aggressive and may not work in other countries, some public health experts commend the approach saying, "it's better to overreact."

In Kenya's rural communities and densely populated areas, accessing sanitation and hygiene methods can be difficult, but in one slum, a nonprofit organization has teamed up with a group of young men in the community to help increase access during the Covid-19 pandemic. Together, they are providing free water and food vouchers to families and setting up hand washing stations throughoutut the area.

Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share land, and despite previous disagreements, they collaborated to create one of the state's most effective coronavirus testing clinics. 3,000 people from both tribes have been tested, about 30% of all tests done in Wyoming. The two nations have also helped residents, impacted by casino closures and sharp drops in oil and gas revenues, with special hunting seasons, food supply distributions, and providing quarantine housing. More testing has meant higher cases identified, which has led some to create a narrative blaming Native people for the spread of the virus.

Singapore's aggressive pandemic response in conjunction with strict university rules has helped keep campuses free of COVID-19 cases so far. As a country, free testing and medical care has ensured that positive cases can be isolated quickly, while at the university level, the use of technology, zoning rules, and penalties for those who do not comply have worked to safeguard public health.

To limit the spread of COVID-19, the Everyone In initiative offers housing to people experiencing homelessness. In the first few months of the program, the government paid for hotel rooms – which were empty due to the pandemic – for about 15,000 people. Additional services provided include helping people with substance abuse issues, accessing welfare benefits, and finding permanent housing. Some hotel residents expressed a renewed sense of purpose from having stable housing. A new set of workers, like hotel staff, addressing homelessness for the first time also led to innovation.