Time to prepare

Proper and targeted measures needed for Covid-19

Across the world, the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic within national borders has followed a similar pattern. Growth has typically been exponential, and at some point the number of critical cases threatens to overwhelm the country’s health infrastructure. Differences in patterns between countries emerge in general because of specific mitigation factors: The level of social distancing and quarantining imposed, and the stage of the epidemic in which these are enforced; the number of tests conducted; the accuracy of identification of those who might be potential carriers but are asymptomatic; and, finally, the level to which the public health system