Writer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
In the United States, COVID-19 cases are spiking and folks are preparing for a difficult winter. In contrast, several Asian countries have done remarkably well in the fight against COVID-19.
This hasn’t gone unnoticed by scientists, journalists, and ordinary people. Unfortunately, some have taken a patronizing and orientalist view on the situation. They credit the gap between Western and Eastern nations’ success with COVID-19 entirely to cultural differences.
In truth, the real sources of certain Asian countries’ effective anti-COVID-19 approaches are prior pandemic experience, smart policy decisions, effective communication strategies, and a willingness to put public health over short-term economic gains.
Take Vietnam, which as of October 2020 had reported a total of 35 COVID-19 deaths. Vietnam’s experience with SARS in 2003 made them take COVID-19 seriously when it began to emerge in early 2020. They implemented pandemic readiness plans quickly.
The Vietnamese government has also depoliticized COVID-19, framing it entirely as a public health issue. They have allowed state-owned television networks, which are usually restricted in terms of the information they can share, to be completely transparent with COVID-19 data.
In the early days of the pandemic, Vietnam prioritized public health over the economy. They put in place and enforced strict social distancing. While this may have been difficult for the economy in the short term, it allowed the country to get COVID-19 under real control. Now, they have been able to shift their focus to rebuilding and reinvigorating the economy, without a second wave of COVID-19 bearing down on them.
Countries like South Korea, Laos, and Taiwan have implemented similar strategies and seen similar success against COVID-19. It is important to note that not all Asian countries have been so lucky. For example, Bangladesh has many of the same issues as the United States. With misinformation running wild and folks not following social distancing guidelines, they are also bracing for a hard winter.
There is a lot we can learn from certain Asian countries’ success against COVID-19. Several African and Southern Pacific countries have also done a great job fending off and controlling the pandemic. As we admire and learn from these nations’ efforts, let’s remember that this isn’t a competition. When a country does well against COVID-19, we all win. When a nation is struggling with the disease, we all lose. The fight against COVID-19 is a global fight. We are all in this together.
Sources:
Islam, Arafatul, “Why Bangladeshis no longer fear the coronavirus”, DW News, 29 Sept. 2020. https://www.dw.com/en/bangladesh-coronavirus-no-fear/a-55091050. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.
John, Tara, “The West is being left behind as it squanders Covid-19 lessons from Asia-Pacific”, CNN, 13 Oct. 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/europe/coronavirus-asia-pacific-west-intl/index.html. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.
Kurlantzick, Joshua, “What’s Behind Mainland Southeast Asia’s Surprising Success Against COVID-19”, World Politics Review, 11 Aug. 2020. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/28979/what-s-behind-mainland-southeast-asia-s-surprising-success-against-covid-19. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.
Laurent, Lionel, “Don’t Ignore the Good News On Covid-19 From Asia”, Bloomberg, 30 Oct. 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-10-30/don-t-ignore-the-good-news-on-covid-19-from-asia. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.
Le Thuy, Tran, “Vietnam is fighting Covid without pitting economic growth against public health”, Guardian, 20 Oct. 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/20/vietnam-covid-economic-growth-public-health-coronavirus. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.
Soy, Ann, “Coronavirus in Africa: Five reasons why Covid-19 has been less deadly than elsewhere”, BBC, 7 Oct. 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54418613. Accessed 16 Nov. 2020.