What Wuhan Can Teach New York
The epicenter of China’s outbreak had its own brushes with bumbling bureaucracy, yet cases have finally stabilized.
The epicenter.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergIs New York City the new Wuhan? In a matter of weeks, the city of 8.6 million has become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., with more than 23,000 cases and 365 deaths. Until a statewide lockdown was instituted Sunday, New Yorkers were getting mixed messages about whether (and how) they should get tested, remain in self-isolation, take public transportation or gather in groups. With the state woefully short of supplies, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio are jockeying for assistance from the White House — all while letting their personal grievances rip across the airwaves.
It may be tempting to compare this chaos with Wuhan’s draconian, but apparently effective, response. Two months after locking down the city’s 11 million residents, China declared victory over the coronavirus this week, saying ground zero of the pandemic will reopen for business by April 9. (President Donald Trump would have liked this Easter deadline.) Despite a staggering 50,006 cases and 2,531 deaths, Wuhan’s numbers have stabilized. Meanwhile the U.S. has just overtaken China for the most cases worldwide.