Many Americans wonder why some countries, such as China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have dealt with the pandemic effectively while other nations are suffering massive deaths. This question was recently asked on Quora, and one response stated:
It’s not rocket science. There is no mystery here. China isn’t doing anything that any other sensible nation wouldn’t do:
lock down the country tighter than a drum if the virus is out of control
don’t lift the lockdown until the virus is under control
mandate mask wearing and social distancing
ramp up testing quickly, efficiently, and on a large enough scale for its population size
A number of countries did this and they enjoy very good outcomes: Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and others.
The answer is, at best misleading. At worse, it is blatantly dishonest. The countries listed took a variety of approaches to the pandemic. Some imposed stringent lock downs. Some, such as Taiwan and South Korea, had short lock downs that were less stringent. And Japan never imposed a mandatory lock down at all.
The nations listed above do have several things in common: testing, isolating the infected, and contact tracing. In short, they found out who was infected and then stopped them from spreading the coronavirus.
Lock downs are destroying lives. Millions have lost their jobs. Countless businesses have closed, never to reopen. The economic devastation continues to mount, and yet, some apparently think that we haven’t suffered enough.