The US has become the epicenter of the global pandemic, but COVID-19 remains a great threat to population health across the world and the response of nations has varied considerably over the past several months.

The US has become the epicenter of the global pandemic, but COVID-19 remains a great threat to population health across the world and the response of nations has varied considerably over the past several months.

This site is devoted to tracking these trends in the months ahead, comparing and contrasting policy responses among countries, analyzing the different results of these policies, and using this information to identify and discuss the policy options that might work best for the US.

Important Links

• Experts warn Spain is losing the 2nd round in virus fight (AP News)
• UK scientists openly question government’s pandemic response (AP News)
• Worldwide virus cases top 20 million, doubling in six weeks (AP News)
• When COVID-19 Hit, Many Elderly Were Left to Die (The New York Times)
• Spain’s new wave of infections hits the young, middle-aged (AP News)
• Sweden’s renegade COVID-19 policy looks like a disaster — but the country is quietly determined to see it through despite the cost in lives (Business Insider)
• Coronavirus spikes in Asia spur warnings against complacency (Reuters)
• Latin America leads world in coronavirus cases, Reuters count shows (Reuters)
• Second COVID-19 wave forces new travel curbs around the globe (Reuters)
• Unequal consequences of COVID-19 across age and income: Representative evidence from six countries (Vox EU)
• Sweden hoped herd immunity would curb COVID-19. Don’t do what we did. It’s not working (USA Today)
• E.U. Adopts Groundbreaking Stimulus to Fight Coronavirus Recession (The New York Times)
• The Latest: Pope reassures those struggling with virus (AP News)
• Global surge in coronavirus cases is being fed by the developing world — and the U.S. (The Washington Post)
• Asia ramps up coronavirus curbs as new clusters erupt (Reuters)
• America has more coronavirus deaths than other countries. What can we learn? (Tampa Bay Times)
• Virus Gains Steam Across Latin America (The New York Times)
• Sweden starts to debate its coronavirus public health experiment (LA Times)
• Bleak UNICEF Report On Kids And COVID-19 … But There Is Hope (npr)
• South Korea says it is battling ‘second wave’ of coronavirus (Reuters)
• 8 Hospitals in 15 Hours: A Pregnant Woman’s Crisis in the Pandemic (The New York Times)
• Sweden, the pandemic and precarious working conditions (Social Europe)
• UK lockdown a week earlier could have halved COVID-19 death toll, scientist says (Reuters)
• Resurgence of virus threatens South Korea’s success story (AP News)
• The World Reopens, Despite Skyrocketing Coronavirus Cases (The New York Times)
• Closing in on all sides: Cuba nears declaring coronavirus victory (Reuters)
• With recovery of last case, New Zealand has eradicated virus (AP News)
• Brazil expunges virus death toll as data befuddles experts (AP News)
• Coronavirus Rips Into Regions Previously Spared (The New York Times)
• Latin America had time to prepare for the coronavirus. It couldn’t stop the inevitable. (The Washington Post)
• A Reporter’s Journey Across a Resuscitating, and Oddly Changed, Europe (The New York Times)
• ‘It’s Not the Virus’: Mexico’s Broken Hospitals Become Killers, Too (The New York Times)
• The pandemic’s second stage is here — and it’s getting ugly (The Washington Post)
• Its Coronavirus Caseload Soaring, India Is Reopening Anyway (The New York Times)
• New Zealand edges back to normal after quashing coronavirus in 49 days (The Washington Post)
• In one of the world’s largest slums, the fight against the coronavirus has turned into a struggle to survive (The Washington Post)

Image courtesy of Reuters / Jeenah Moon