The divide across Europe is striking: Spain has recorded 580 deaths per million, Italy 524, and the UK 499. But Slovakia has recorded five, Poland 22, the Czech Republic 27 and Austria 70, not far behind Germany. The Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, by contrast, not until the first week of March, giving precious extra time to understand the risks. “There wasn’t any of the misguided exceptionalism we saw in the UK,” Cambridge health researcher Olga Loblova points out. The obligatory wearing of masks outdoors was implemented very early on by the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Source: The Irish Times May 14, 2020 15:22 UTC