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Astounding how well Uruguay 
has controlled COVID-19. Only 3,620 cases and 62 deaths despite sharing borders with Brazil & Argentina, two of the world's top-10 in overall cases. Uruguay has just 1,029 cases per million, compared to 31,587 in the US.
How did it pull this off?
has controlled COVID-19. Only 3,620 cases and 62 deaths despite sharing borders with Brazil & Argentina, two of the world's top-10 in overall cases. Uruguay has just 1,029 cases per million, compared to 31,587 in the US. How did it pull this off?
To be fair, is a very small country, with ~3.5 million people. But it's not an island like New Zealand, Australia or Hawaii. And it doesn't have a cultural acceptance of masks, like some Asian countries.
One key: it moved very fast.
is a very small country, with ~3.5 million people. But it's not an island like New Zealand, Australia or Hawaii. And it doesn't have a cultural acceptance of masks, like some Asian countries. One key: it moved very fast.
Unlike other LatAm countries, Uruguay developed its own PCR test, freeing it from devastated intl supply chain issues. And it did it extremely quickly, announcing the test just a week (!) after the first reported COVID case in the country. https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-turismo/comunicacion/noticias/uruguay-desarrollo-test-para-detectar-coronavirus
It also embraced matrix pool testing, a high-speed, low-cost approach that puts together samples from multiple people in one batch. That makes it possible to test more people faster with far fewer test kits and to avoid the problems the US had with even getting people tested.
As a result, Uruguay has tested ~64 people for every positive case of Coronavirus, compared to ~12 in the US and 2 in Mexico.
That testing advantage allowed Uruguay to contact trace very efficiently and contain outbreaks without mandatory lockdowns.
That testing advantage allowed Uruguay to
contact trace very efficiently and contain outbreaks without mandatory lockdowns.
closed its borders very early and quickly shut down bars, restaurants, shopping centers and other potential nodes of infection. Uruguay closed schools on March 13 but began reopening some in April and had all fully back in Session before July. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/covid-19-how-countries-are-reopening-their-schools-amidst-pandemic-044045695.html
All this has made Uruguay stand out not just in S America, but the world. In Oct the EU put it on a very short list (with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea & Thailand) w/ no travel restrictions. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/eu-advises-travel-restrictions-on-3-more-countries/2015870
Curiously, the CDC still ranks Uruguay as a Level 3 high-risk, travel warning country. The only countries* it lists as low are New Zealand and Thailand.
(*some territories like Isle of Man are also low risk per CDC)
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/coronavirus-uruguay
(*some territories like Isle of Man are also low risk per CDC)
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/coronavirus-uruguay
Anyhow, Uruguay is clearly an interesting case to consider as things get steadily worse around here, with daily new cases hitting nearly 140,000 in the US — compared to just 60 in Uruguay.
For more detail, check this story out: https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3575
For more detail, check this story out: https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3575
