THE UNITED STATES is judged to have had globally the fifth worst response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.
Australian website Lowy Institute have created their 'Covid Performance Index' to determine how each country has been managing the international crisis.
America's pandemic response is deemed to be better than just four nations; Brazil - which was ranked bottom of the list - Mexico, Colombia and Iran. (China wasn't included because none of its testing statistics are publicly available.)
The index surveyed 98 countries, and their scores are based on a number of factors and statistics.
It takes into account:
- Confirmed cases
- Confirmed deaths
- Confirmed cases per million people
- Confirmed deaths per million people
- Confirmed cases as a proportion of tests
- Tests per thousand people
An average score from all those indicators is then calculated, which in turn points to how well or poorly each country has handled the crisis.
Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, the US, and particularly former president Donald Trump, has been widely criticised for a rather lax approach to handling Covid.
Trump often downplayed the severity of the virus, and refused to wear a face-mask in public for the first few months of the pandemic.
Over 25 million cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the US, while more than 430,000 people have died from it.
Elsewhere, Ireland was ranked 43rd on the list, securing a top-half finish, while the UK was ranked 66th.
At the very top of the list was New Zealand - whose domestic response to the pandemic is deemed to have been better than any other nation.
Making up the rest of the top 10 is Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Cyprus, Rwanda, Iceland, Australia, Latvia and Sri Lanka.
Lowy Institute researcher Ms Leng told The Australian: "The results basically show that neither democracies nor authoritarian states did better than the other.
"In general, countries with smaller populations, cohesive societies and capable institutions have a comparative advantage in dealing with a global crisis such as a pandemic."
To see the full list, click here.
