How did New York tame the curve of the pandemic?

When in December the cut of what was a full year of pandemic in New York, which for long weeks of April was the place with the highest number of infections in the world, will continue to shine in the top three in that area.

Without entering into the joyful figures of Governor Andrew Cuomo, who announced that the previous weekend was the first day without deaths since the health emergency began (which was not endorsed by sites such as Johns Hopkins University or Worldometer, which keep the record punctual of what governments report), the truth is that New York can already be studied as a case of success in containing the virus.

And that is why now, while in April the entire nation, if not the world, looked at this area with fear and pity, the governor has forced travelers from more than 20 states to quarantine if they wish to dock in this port.

And it is that in the last two weeks New York remained with figures of 800 infections and 25 daily deaths, being that the last of March the infections averaged 9 thousand daily and from April 5 to 11, deaths exceeded 900 per day. To illustrate how the residents of the state climbed a mountain of uncertainty and pain and then with great effort started the descent – despite convulsive weeks of protests over the death of George Floyd – the mayor had a poster made that will remain as a sign of his legacy in the timely and determined handling of the crisis.

What do Cuomo and the Niuyorquers boast of which other regions that still trudge up the mountain of death can learn?

It should be clarified that many of the decisions that were made in New York are not very different from those that, for example, have been implemented in Mexico: Do ​​not leave home, keep a healthy distance, obsessively wash your hands, do not touch your face. and eat well, both physically and spiritually.

But where the strategy of Cuomo’s advisers differ in relation to that of the Undersecretary of Health in Mexico, Hugo López Gatell, highlights the forced use of the mask, on the one hand, and the massive application of anti-Covid tests, mandates that here presume as keys to the considerable decline in the figures. “Be smart”, “love always wins”, if you’re going out “wear a mask” and “keep your distance” were repeated daily at government conferences.

The comparison of plans between each country or region must be filled with assurances because in the case of New York at least 80 percent of its inhabitants had the salary and resources to pass the quarantine at home, a percentage that in Mexico must be reduced resoundingly due to the high levels of poverty that the country has registered for decades.

For now, some southern states in the United States are apparently beginning to copy the Cuomo-De Blasio model, which incidentally also included the cancellation of any massive sporting, musical or artistic event, including coveted Broadway plays. in the remainder of the year. “First health and then the economy” is the message that the New York authorities have sent.

And it is that this country has just signed its worst week of infections since the coronavirus arrived to change customs and customs.

Yesterday, Thursday, July 16, for example, the number of new infections amounted to 73 thousand 388! leaving the weekly average at 68 thousand. In the worst weeks of April when NY was burning, the figure was close to 35 thousand, so you can imagine how worrying it is now that there are at least 5 states, Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and Oklahoma, where the curve points towards the clouds and you can’t see how it can be stopped.

The consolation remains that, due to the more professional handling and the use of some retardants, at least the death figures do not follow the same trend as that of those infected, and if at some point the daily record of casualties touched 2,000, now it has not risen above 800.

For now, the New York authorities, despite allowing the opening of restaurants, bars, offices and businesses phase by phase, have not let up in the information sessions and continue to threaten closures or a painful return to quarantine in case the figures threaten with wanting to climb back the hill of ignominy

“Resistant New York” is the name of the funny poster that illustrates Andrew Cuomo’s strategy and where we see Donald Trump sitting on the moon above the phrase “it’s just a flu.”

What would happen if the strategies proposed by those in charge of managing the pandemic in each country were illustrated on a poster?