Africa has defied the covid-19 nightmare scenarios. We shouldn't be surprised. (WaPo)

[eppur_se_muova]

Opinion by
Karen Attiah
Global Opinions editor
September 22, 2020 at 8:22 a.m. CDT

After the novel coronavirus first appeared in Africa in late February, Ghana’s government decided it would take no chances. Ghanaian citizens were soon put under lockdown, and travel between major cities was banned. Then President Nana Akufo-Addo announced the closure of the country’s land and sea borders.

At the time, my dad was in Ghana visiting family, and he faced the prospect of being stuck until commercial flights resumed. As experts predicted how the pandemic would be a unique and devastating disaster in Africa, my siblings and I scrambled to get my father a spot on a State Department repatriation flight for U.S. citizens. We rushed to get him out because we thought he would be better off in the United States.
***
After the Ebola pandemic, Senegal set up an emergency operations center to manage public health crises. Some covid-19 test results come back in 24 hours, and the country employs aggressive contact tracing. Every coronavirus patient is given a bed in hospital or other health-care facility. Senegal has a population of 16 million, but has only 302 registered deaths. Several countries have come up with innovations. Rwanda, a country of 12 million, also responded early and aggressively to the virus, using equipment and infrastructure that was in place to deal with HIV/AIDS. Testing and treatment for the virus are free. Rwanda has recorded only 26 deaths.
***
As the United States approaches 200,000 deaths, the West seems largely blind to Africa’s successes. In recent weeks, headline writers seem to be doing their hardest to try to reconcile Western stereotypes about Africa with the reality of the low death rates on the continent. The BBC came under fire for a since-changed headline and a tweet that read “Coronavirus in Africa: Could poverty explain mystery of low death rate?” The New York Post published an article with the headline, “Scientists can’t explain puzzling lack of coronavirus outbreaks in Africa.”

It’s almost as if they are disappointed that Africans aren’t dying en masse and countries are not collapsing. While Black Americans have been disproportionately contracting covid-19 and dying, Africa’s performance shows, as I quoted a Kenyan anthropologist saying in May, “being a black person in this world doesn’t kill you, but being a black person in America clearly can.”
***
more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/22/africa-has-defied-covid-19-nightmare-scenarios-we-shouldnt-be-surprised/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

[soothsayer]

1. That's a helluva quote at the end

That’s pretty amazing how well they’ve done.

We suck.

[LymphocyteLover]

8. So true. Who is the shithole country?

Trump has made us into a shithole country. He is a Shithole president.

[marble falls]

14. In an article filled with great quotes. "being a black person in this world doesn't kill you, ...

but being a black person in America clearly can.”

[NJCher]

2. We should study what they have done

And learn from them.

The bbc headline was appalling.

[RVN VET71]

5. We know what they have done.

We knew what they were doing. We knew they were successfully suppressing the spread of the plague. It was all there for us.

We just ignored it.

[LymphocyteLover]

9. We being Trump and his evil minions

[NJCher]

18. we should study what they have done means

they let science lead. The U.S. didn't.

[KS Toronado]

3. Almost every country has handled it better than we have

For a real shocker look at the daily numbers for Hong Cong #118, Thailand #134, Vietnam #165,
Taiwan #174, Cambodia #185, Laos #205 , lastly look at China #34 where it all started.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

[localroger]

7. No other country "handled" it by pretending it would magically go away /nt

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Actually there was one other country that promoted "pretending"

and has continually been held up by the RW loons here for emulation, despite their approach eventually resulting in per capita infection rates higher than their surrounding countries, along with a spike in death rates over the summer - and that was Sweden.

What was being distorted in the promotion about what Sweden actually DID, was what was initially being left out regarding some mitigation steps that they took (finally being reported) -

But Nitzan stressed there was no “one size fits all” solution and every approach should be based on situation and context. If the WHO was keen to learn more from Sweden, it was because it saw the country as one that had “adapted its response to its people’s behaviour and background, and leveraged that to make it effective”.

Unlike many countries, Sweden closed colleges and universities for the over-16s, but kept schools for younger pupils open. The country also banned gatherings of more than 50 people, and urged those over 70 and in at-risk groups to self-isolate.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/25/what-lessons-can-europe-learn-from-sweden-covid-19-experience

Yet now even what they did was not enough as the cases are on the rise again, causing Susan Collins-like "concern".

Of course Sweden as a country, has about the same population as the state of North Carolina, so they are but a microcosm of data.

[oldsoftie]

13. Most of those went to mask wearing at a very early point too.

[KS Toronado]

22. Yes, masks and temperature checks very early.

[oldsoftie]

25. So simple. And yet it has to be a major issue HERE. Which is ridiculous.

I mean, I could understand the angst if we were being asked to do something questionable. But its a MASK for god's sake.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. I had read that in WaPo when the article first appeared

and it's true. But what the editorial author had left out to sortof underscore the "westernized" issue, is the fact that the highest rates on the continent so far, have happened in the most "westernized" country there - South Africa - although even there the death rates have been lower than expected - one speculation being due to an overall "younger" populace, although other theories relate to more exposure to earlier coronaviruses (I guess as opposed to the prevalence of rhinoviruses for colds elsewhere).

The worldwide regional breakdown -

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54248507

Of course too, other than the densely populated urban areas, the continent is huge, allowing for more sprawl ("distancing" ). And just like South Korea jumped right on the masking right away having gone through the earlier SARS epidemic, so too did many countries on the continent of Africa jump into "ebola mode" to try to head it off at the pass. This is not to say that some mutated form may eventually go spreading there just like we are finally seeing the "first wave" hit the middle of the U.S., but there has been time and data enough for localities to make plans.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Time and data and LEADERSHIP enough to make plans.

But the US has a leader who doesn't begin to approach the standards of informed, responsible judgement and planning of those African leaders ... a point which bears emphasis, especially given 45's views on "shithole" countries.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. And the sad thing here in the U.S. too

that it's not just the "top leader" but the lack of lower levels of "leadership", where you have loon governors who spend all their waking hours denying science and facts, and continually try to negate the mitigation efforts being put in place by the local leaders under their jurisdictions.

[Lonestarblue]

19. In addition to the high death rate, one of the worst things is the economic losses.

Essentially, we went through a lockdown that damaged the economy and produced no results because of those state leaders and a totally incompetent president. Had travel between states been prevented from March, we would not be in this situation today. Travel within states should have been prevented as soon as the first case appeared in that state, with contact tracing to identify and quarantine any other who might have been in contact with that person.

One of the other factors in the seriousness of the virus here is that the US has some of the least healthy foods in the world. There’s a reason we have high rates of diabetes. Extra sugar is in practically every processed food, including healthy options like vegetable soups, and children become addicted to it at an early age with sugar-laden cereals. We eat far more processed foods, many of which are filled with chemicals and preservatives to ensure long shelf life. We have GMO modified foods like wheat that have far less nutritional value than wheat of a couple generations back. Chickens are dipped in chemicals to kill bacteria.

Organic foods are generally healthier, but also costlier. Poor people and even those of moderate incomes may not be able to afford to eat healthier foods, setting them up for health issues that come to the fore when dealing with something like Covid-19. We need a new food supply system that focuses more on healthy foods and leas on factory farming.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. One of the issues that you mention

being the affordability of healthier foods - well, it's worse than that. It's access to ANY type of "food store". Many many poorer neighborhoods and localities have no access to a supermarket AT ALL and are often forced to rely on a "corner grocery store" that has a limited selection (and often with expired foods). That's what you'll see commonly called a "food desert".

However there are other factors that have come into play with this disease including those who are actually young and healthy (including having grown up in households where veganism, etc., was practiced) who have succumbed due to their body's response (or better, "over-response" ) to exposure to the virus, particularly if they ended up with a larger load of it.

Plus there is, IMHO, a huge so-called "recovered" population who might not really be "recovered", and who are not being followed up on unless their lingering long-term symptoms have reached a level such that it left some damage to major organs and/or affects their day-to-day living. I.e., those with issues that are coming in at a lesser degree than those now being dubbed the "long-haulers", but that are still impactful to them. In those cases, you'll see commonly reported that they continue to have chronic fatigue and aches that have NOT gone away.

We won't really know until we reach that 1 year and beyond point with those who were infected the earliest and survived the initial onslaught (and whether or how well their bodies were able to heal from any damage).

[Igel]

24. You don't need organic foods.

You need people to buy ingredients and not meals.

Pre-prepared meals cost more. Buy ingredients, get better food for the same price.

Eating out was a bad thing. It costs more--twice as much for fast food, 3-4x as much for sit-down fast food (like Denny's), 5x or more for better places. You pay for all the servants you have to hire, plus management and location.


You also get your taste buds reset a while after you stop putting in all the salt and sugar. Or you're faced with the amount of salt and sugar you add to get the taste you want.

[UpInArms]

11. This certainly turns the USA into the "shithole country"

smh

[marble falls]

15. Clearly.

[niyad]

12. kNR

[mountain grammy]

16. K & R

[Tommymac]

20. But "USA...USA...USA!" We lead the world in patting ourselves on the back

Too many folks of European descent believe deep down Africa is mostly black or people of color, therefore they are primative uncivilized savages. No way a bunch of savages are going to tell the super modern USA (or Europe) how to do something.

Even when we are fucking the worst at something.

BLM. This is the meme we need to embrace - not blind nationalism. I sincerely thank the movement for starting to at least raise awareness about our hidden prejudices.

And Joe & Kamala get it...it will take a generation to change, but we need to start now.

GOTV

[eppur_se_muova]

26. You phrased your title very nicely. Describes 'USA! USA!' jingoism very concisely. nt

[Tommymac]

27. Thank You. I tried, this is a very hard concept for a lot of folks to grasp.

I mean no disrespect to our Country, but human rights 'trump' (hate that word but it works) nationalism, or they should.

[xraymike79]

23. Antiscience Flat-Earthers

Trump is the poster child for what happens when science is politicized and a megalomaniac is in charge.