China instituted quarantines and strict immigration rules earlier this year, in response to the H1N1 virus. According to a front-page story in The New York Times (Nov. 12, 2009) “Chinese and foreign health officials say that some of those contested measures — more easily adopted by an authoritarian state — may have helped slow the spread of the disease in the world’s most populous country. ”
Unfortunately, no research is cited.
The best that reporter Edward Wong can offer as evidence: ““I think there were a variety of measures put in place by different countries, and it’s difficult to say what worked best and what didn’t, but China’s has worked very well,” said Dr. Michael O’Leary, the director of the Beijing office of the World Health Organization.”
Paul Statt Communications 