As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep through countries around the world, some nations were able to limit the number of deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.
Singapore
Singapore's response to the novel coronavirus has been praised by health experts around the world as the city-state has had only 27 deaths linked to the disease, despite logging over 57,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday.
Some nations have tried to replicate the city-state's response by imposing hard lockdowns but to no avail. On the other hand, Singapore continued to conduct strict contact tracing measures and widespread testing.
Experts believe that Singapore's small population that generally accepted government orders, as well as a top-quality health system, helped limit the number of deaths linked to the fast-spreading disease.
In late February, infectious disease control specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Kent Sepkowitz said that it appears Singapore had "more of a willingness to place the community and society needs over individual liberty and that helps in a public health crisis."
Qatar
The first confirmed coronavirus case in Qatar was reported late in February. Seven months later, the country has logged over 127,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections.
With over a hundred thousand cases, Qatar registered at least 220 deaths linked to the disease, making it one of the countries that has a particularly low coronavirus death rate.
Last week, first deputy premier and foreign minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani said at the Ninth Arab Business Forum that the country may start releasing travel visas to Arab businessmen soon as part of Qatar's phase four reopening.
The government's restriction easing program kicked off in mid-June, with the reopening of malls and stores being among the first few businesses that were allowed to operate again since strict measures were implemented.
Israel
Israel has seen a resurgence in new COVID-19 cases over several weeks, prompting the government to implement a nationwide lockdown in mid-September. Restrictions have not been lifted yet, with the ban on public gatherings being extended to curb the new outbreak.
As of Monday, the country has registered over 290,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, but its death toll has yet to surpass 2,000.
The country was among the few nations around the world that were initially praised for its quick response to the pandemic. However, new cases surged immediately after schools were reopened in May.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health confirmed the first COVID-19 case in the country in early March and since then, the kingdom has logged over 339,000 confirmed coronavirus infections.
Despite hundreds of confirmed cases, the kingdom has reported at least 5,043 deaths linked to the disease as of Monday.
The Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia, which has over 333,000 confirmed cases, has over 6,000 more fatalities linked to the novel coronavirus when compared to Saudi Arabia.
For several months, the kingdom has implemented strict anti-coronavirus measures to help curb the spike in infections and deaths from COVID-19. The government only announced the easing of some restrictions last week.
One of the most notable restrictions that were lifted was the suspension of smaller "umrah" pilgrimage, which usually attracts over millions around the world. Saudi Arabia now allows a maximum of 6,000 pilgrims to enter Mecca's Grand Mosque.
Argentina
The Latin American country of Argentina is the sixth hardest-hit country in the world in terms of confirmed cases. It has registered over 894,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday.
Despite its massive number of infections, Argentina has registered more than 23,000 deaths linked to the virus. While the said toll is still huge compared to other nations, the country's death toll is the smallest among countries that registered over 800,000 deaths in Latin America.
Mexico, which has over 817,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, has a death toll of 83,781. Peru, on the other hand, has more than 849,000 confirmed infections and over 33,000 deaths.
Colombia, the fifth hardest-hit country in the world, has over 911,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 27,000 deaths. Brazil, the world's third hardest-hit, has more than 150,000 deaths and over 5 million confirmed infections.
