With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass that spoke out against inequality, discrimination, war, and climate destruction, writes MARC VANDEPITTE
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Stunningly effective coronavirus approach: the secret of Kerala and Vietnam
The Indian state of Kerala and Vietnam are two poverty-stricken regions that are also particularly vulnerable to the spread of Covid-19 — yet they managed to control the epidemic in an impressive way. Why do they manage to save so many lives when the West still has thousands of new deaths every day? asks MARC VANDEPITTE
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Less than 5 deaths
As a rule, poor countries are very vulnerable to COVID-19. Nevertheless, the fight against the virus was particularly effective in both countries. Kerala was one of the first Indian states affected by the virus. Six weeks after the outbreak, it already had the lowest mortality rate in the country. A total of 690 infections and four deaths were counted. India as a whole, on the other hand, may be heading for millions of corona cases with serious illness.
Vietnam did even better. It managed to nip the outbreak in the bud. A total of 324 infections and zero deaths have been reported to date.
Compared to the countries of the North, these countries have very few resources to fight the virus. Their GDP per capita is about 16 times lower than that of Britain. What, then, is the secret behind their efficient approach? We list its elements.
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With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass that spoke out against inequality, discrimination, war, and climate destruction, writes MARC VANDEPITTE
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