As Countries Reopen, Many Avoid a Second Wave of Covid-19 Cases—So Far

Successes at limiting new infections in Europe and Asia suggest ways to hold the pandemic in check

By Jason Douglas in London and Dasl Yoon of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Europe and Asia have so far avoided a significant resurgence of Covid-19 cases even though most countries have emerged from lockdown and restarted chunks of their economies, a possible sign the coronavirus pandemic can be held in check by less stringent means."

"The average daily rate of new infections in Europe at the beginning of June was down 80% on its April 9 peak, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Croatia, Cyprus and Hungary reported no new cases at all Sunday. New daily cases in Germany, France, Spain and Italy have fallen to the low hundreds, from thousands a day when the pandemic was at its fiercest.

Daily infections are also waning in large parts of Asia, which experienced the full force of the pandemic earlier than Europe. New Zealand on Monday said it had no active cases"

"Epidemiologists say the experience of Europe and Asia shows a mix of behavioral changes and public-health policies appear sufficient to keep the virus more or less in check as schools, businesses and factories reopen."

"widespread and uncontrollable transmission of the pathogen appears to be on hold."

"South Korea, for instance, has implemented widespread testing and tech-savvy tracing of an infected person’s contacts to spot infections and slow transmission. Health officials track down close contacts using cellphone data, credit card transactions and security footage. Anyone who enters the country must quarantine for 14 days, and those who exhibit symptoms are tested upon entering the country."