The little country that could — and did — take on the Coronavirus

A small African democracy shows the Western World a thing or two about leadership and organization in controlling a pandemic

Grandma showing me around her favorite hawker stalls in Mauritius, circa 2014. She can’t wait to get out of confinement to take the bus and walk the streets again.

Related: https://medium.com/@sherrylynnlee/coronavirus-whats-the-problem-56c9cf5bcb3e

The tiny island nation of Mauritius — my homeland — has been hit hard by the Coronavirus. And, like many transplants to the United States, I am checking in daily with my family to see how they are doing.

But here’s the twist: they may be in a better place than I am right now.

That’s because the government of this diminutive “Third World” nation of 1.26 million people seems to have to put into place a plan that is actually working. In the past five days, no new cases have been detected.

I think I’m in a unique position to do a case study of three countries — the U.S., Mauritius and Canada — having resided in each nation for a number of years. As I compared each government’s response to the pandemic, I was left with the unmistakable conclusion that bigger is not always better.

Growing up in Mauritius, I never thought much of the local government. They did an OK job, but there have been scandals with flagrant evidence of cronyism and nepotism. But in the past weeks, time and again, I have been impressed…