COVID19 responses in 5 States with no #StayHome order vs Countries with same populations

This is mostly an academic exercise, but I was curious as to how other countries were handling the COVID19 pandemic.
I chose the 5 States which have no statewide Stay At Home order and compared them to countries with approximately the same population.
I compared their active case and death rates and investigated what steps they took to prevent the spread.
All these countries are as much democracies as is the United States.
(Though Bhutan is a democratic monarchy…)

Interesting results.

So, what did they do differently?

Twitter THREAD: https://twitter.com/postcards4USA/status/1252678640363593728
FB Post: https://www.facebook.com/postcards4USA/posts/2875333802580813
GoogleDoc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10cPM1cb521YfkfohGqa-FWOrzJJlg8r78-wjCxbEe7w/edit

FIJI
3 February — Banned visitors from China
26 February — Banned visitors from Italy, S Korea & Iran
19 March — 1st Case was a flight attendant who had flown in from San Francisco. Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama announced a further extension of the ban to foreign nationals who have been present in the United States, as well as all of Europe including the United Kingdom. Also all travelers arriving in or returning to Fiji from outside of the country must self-isolate for 14 days.
20 March — Announced that the national term one school holidays that was initially scheduled from 20 April to 1 May will be brought forward to 23 March to 3 April.[ Fiji Airways suspends all international flights until the end of May, with the exception of twice-weekly services between Singapore and Nadi.[15] The government had established two fever clinics.
16 April — Announced that schools will remain closed till 15 June. Also announced the extension of the quarantine period to a full 28 days, both for anyone who is newly-quarantined and to those who currently are waiting out their initial 14-day period.

SOUTH DAKOTA
10 March — Governor Kristi Noem’s office announced the first 4 cases and 1 death
13 March — Governor declares state of emergency
16 March — School are closed. No statewide stay at home order.
9 April — 80 employees at Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls confirmed to have COVID-19.
15 April — 438 Smithfield employees tested positive for COVID19

BHUTAN
5 March — American tourist first to test positive. Immediate lockdown & 21-day lockdown mandated for anyone entering country. 400 with whom tourist had contact quarantined for 21 days.
Blood samples tested using rapid test kit.
*The PM, Foreign & Health Ministers are all medical doctors
9 March — National COVID-19 Response fund established. All Members of Parliament donate 1 month’s salary
8 April — Special isolation hospital set up to treat COVID patients
21 April — Person who returned from middle east, quarantined since arrival, tested positive. Moved to hospital isolation facility.

NORTH DAKOTA
11 March — 1st Case
19 March — Governor Doug Burgum issues, executive order limiting access to state facilities. Burgum also restricted restaurants and bars to take-out/delivery/drive-through/off-sale service. He ordered movie theaters, other entertainment venues, health clubs, and gyms to close until 6 April.
28 March — Governor requires people entering the state to quarantine themselves for 14 days if they came from other countries or one of the 23 states classified as having widespread disease by the CDC
9 April — Governor shuts down schools, bars, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and salons, but resists issuing a statewide stay-at-home order.
20 April — 110 confirmed cases of coronavirus in people connected to the LM Wind Power plant in Grand Forks — a total that includes both employees and “their close contacts.” North Dakota Department of Health advises they quarantine for 14 days.
20 April — 150 people, organized by groups sponsored by DeVos, gather at State Capital to protest the closures.
1 May — Governor plans to reopen the businesses.

MONGOLIA
10 March — 1st case; Man flew in from Europe. 120 people that have had close contact with the patient quarantined, and over 500 people with indirect contact are under medical observation
Suspension of all international flights and passenger trains until 30 April.
All public events including conferences, sports and festivals cancelled across the country, educational institutes closed until 30 April.
Citizens are prohibited to travel to the countries affected by the outbreak and any travelers from there are subject to a 14-day quarantine.
21 March — Quarantine extended to 21 days
Special transit planes started evacuating those who are considered “vulnerable” from European areas, Japan and Korea. 3 more people have been reported as being infected with COVID19.of the cases is severe and nine people in the immediate vicinity of the case isolated.
27 March — One more person in isolation tested positive, bringing total imported cases to 11. That person was one of 221 people tested after being immediately isolated upon disembarking from an Istanbul-Ulaanbaatar charter flight approved by the National Emergency Commission

IOWA
3 March — 1st known cases were 3 people who had traveled on Egypt cruise
9 March — Proclamation of Disaster Emergency signed by Governor
15 March — Governor Reynolds recommends schools close for 4 weeks
26 March — Governor halts non-essential surgeries
6 April — Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Columbus Junction closed down after 148 workers test positive and 2 die. Tyson Foods in Waterloo has 138 test positive and 1 die. A third Tyson Foods plant in Perry confirms workers have tested positive, but won’t reveal the number.

LATVIA
2 March — 1st Case is woman who flew in from Milan.
That same day the Latvian government allocated an additional 2.6 million euros to the Ministry of Health for various anti-coronavirus measures
6 March — Latvian authorities have tested 222 people
12 March — Prime Minister announces state of emergency and that large public gatherings with over 200 people were banned and schools would conduct distance learning until 14 April.
13 March — Government announces billion euro support for businesses affected by coronavirus
17 March — International travel halted, not affecting returning citizens or flow of goods. Organized public events are banned and other gatherings may not exceed 50 participants.
29 March — Declared all person must maintain a 2-meter distance. Prohibits all private arrangements (except funerals), public events, meetings, processions, pickets, indoor sports and religious activities. Prioritization of medical item supply for national purposes.
7 April — Cabinet of Ministers extends state of emergency by another month until 12 May with the same restrictions in place.

NEBRASKA
6 March — 1st Case
52 of 93 Counties individually have “directed health measures” that include an enforceable ban on gatherings of more than 10 persons and require bars and restaurants to close their dining areas, but Ricketts does not want to extend the restrictions statewide.
9 April — Governor Ricketts announces “21 Days to Stay Home and Stay Healthy in Nebraska” and urged Nebraskans to avoid non-essential errands and limit social gatherings

ARMENIA
16 March — Declared a State of Emergency through 14 April
18 March — 799 people in self-isolation, 444 in quarantine at Hotel
21 March — 600 in quarantine; 133 of the cases linked to clusters
24 March — 235 confirmed cases; 26 with pneumonia in ICU
26 March — 1st Death
6 April — Started producing COVID19 tests

ARKANSAS
13 March — Governor recommends not holding gatherings of more than 200
16 March — Governor recommends gatherings be limited to 50, per CDC guidelines
17 March — Public schools closed; 16 confirmed cases
25 March — Arkansas DOH recommends all visitors from NY quarantine for 14 days
4 April — Governor signed Executive Order limiting the types of guests that can stay at hotels to: healthcare professionals; 1st responders; law enforcement; state or federal employees on official business; National Guard members on active duty; airline crew members; patients of hospitals and their families; journalists; persons unable to return to their home due to COVID19 travel restrictions.
6 April — Governor announces schools closed for remainder of school year