Which city responded best to the Covid pandemic?This is a ranking

Some countries have responded to the global pandemic better than others.

The same is true for cities.

However, understanding the city’s performance in the fight against Covid is much more complicated than comparing infection rates and mask rules.

Deep Knowledge Analytics (DKA), a London-based analytics organization, studied 114 variables in five types of pandemic response measures: economic resilience, governance, medical care, isolation, and vaccination.

The results were published in a 116-page report in September under the heading “Covid-19 City Safety Ranking Q2/2021.”

DKA analyzed a total of 8,200 data points – higher than the 1,250 in its first city report Published in March -It covers topics ranging from isolation time and financial support programs to citizen resistance among residents.

DKA analyzed 72 cities and ranked in the top 50.

Lisbon, Portugal, ranked 50th with a score of 50.37, but was hindered by the difficulties in launching the vaccine in the first half of 2021. Portugal is now one of the countries with the highest vaccination rates in the world, and the country’s vaccination rate is close to 86%. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, people who have received two doses of the vaccine.

Cities such as Istanbul, Johannesburg, Bangkok, New Delhi, Cairo, Mexico City and Baghdad were analyzed, but they did not enter the top 50.

DKA director Alexei Cresniov (Alexei Cresniov) said that the top cities on the list tend to act early.

The report states that countries that have developed response plans due to the recent health crisis-such as Singapore, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates-are better prepared. Cresniov said that, in contrast, Italy formulated a pandemic plan but failed to implement it.

Cities that already have – or are rapidly developing – technologies related to contract tracking, telemedicine, and vaccination distribution are at the top of the list.

Cresniov said that cities that implement more measures tend to score higher, but as the situation develops, balance becomes necessary.

Kresniov said: “In the later stages, it is mainly to strike a balance between the blockade and population resources,” he added, adding that as the economic and psychological damage increased, the blockade began to fail.

Finally, Cresniov said that people who trust the local government are doing better in fighting the coronavirus.

This is evident in Abu Dhabi and throughout Asia, where he said, “When the government says there is a pandemic and’please stay home,’ people obey.”

He said, on the contrary, according to the report, lack of trust hindered the pandemic response in Hong Kong, Russia and Western liberal democracies such as the United States, Canada and many European countries.

Cresniov said that the average score for all cities is 55.36 (out of 100 points), indicating that “every city has some room for improvement.”

The report also found:

• On a global scale, the pandemic has revealed poor coordination between national governments and municipalities.
• No city has the medical capacity to support the massive surge in disease caused by the pandemic.

• During the pandemic, 80% of the analyzed cities were less satisfied with local government.However, satisfaction levels in Seoul and Abu Dhabi have increased, and satisfaction levels in Singapore, Sydney and Ottawa, Canada have also remained good. Tetiana Humeniuk, Head of Analysis at DKA.

• Only 10% of cities have “thought-out economic support plans” for citizens and businesses. Humeniuk cited London, Berlin, and Toronto as examples of cities that have these.
• Only 25% of cities have adopted effective and rapid measures to “flatten the curve”, while only 11% of cities have conducted thorough testing and contract tracking. The report stated that these measures and quarantine “are the key to fighting the pandemic.” The report acknowledged that the contract tracking application is controversial, but “this method proves itself.”

• According to this study, only 17% of cities have a comprehensive post-Covid strategy.
• According to the report, countries around the world have responded more to the pandemic than collectively.