While the rise in coronavirus infections is forcing U.S. states and European countries to close bars, open-air hospitals and limit social gatherings to small groups of people, such measures are becoming distant memories in most parts of Asia.
For months now, life in Asia, where the virus first emerged, has largely returned to normal. With low levels of infection, bars and restaurants are bustling, subway trains are full and live concerts and spectator sports are resuming.
China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong together have registered less than 1,000 cases a day since September, while the US alone recorded an average of more than 56,000 cases as of Monday, the highest number since the beginning of August. .
Europe – where spring lockdown successfully squeezed the infection into a problem is now experiencing a second wave, with an average of 88,000 daily cases by Monday, more than before.
About a third of the world’s population lives in East Asia and Southeast Asia, but the densely populated region is less than one-fifth of the world’s 1.1 million Kovid-1 deaths. About half of them are from Europe and the US.
“If you can keep the virus under control, you can get back 95% of your life,” says Ashish Jha, dean of public health at Brown University School. “The U.S. And in Europe, we wanted to get our lives back, so we pretended to be under the control of the virus. In Asia, they were not in denial. They realized that they could get their lives back if they took some precautions. “
The world, effectively, is divided: while Asian countries, which were rapidly advancing to their epidemic outbreaks, continued their fight against the virus, the U.S. And the growing epidemic in Europe led to a relaxed stance on social distance which is confusing. Efforts to control resuscitation. As the case progresses Western governments are struggling with a shortage of testing and contact tracing is becoming ineffective. Many in the West are hoping for a vaccine to bring life back to normal.
Asia, on the other hand, has succeeded in largely suppressing the virus in the spring without a nationwide lockdown that has crippled Western economies. Governments there have put in place aggressive invoicing efforts, quarantine programs to isolate infected and strict international travel requirements. Due to cultural differences, constant messaging and the experience of outbreaks of SARS and MERS, practices such as wearing face masks gained more widespread acceptance and, in some places, more government intervention.
“Independent actions have consequences for the health of others, and this is highly appreciated in most Asian societies,” says TO Yik-Ying, dean of public health at the Swiss Hawk School at the National University of Singapore. “The advice is very relevant. That is how the countries implemented the different advice and applied it. Asians were better at taking advice and putting in the necessary rules. ”
More successful management of the epidemic in Asia has resulted in better economic performance. The International Monetary Fund has forecast a 1.9% growth in China’s economy in 2020, making it the world’s only major economy to grow this year amid an epidemic. The U.S. economy is projected to shrink by 3.3%, while the eurozone is projected to shrink by 8.3%.
Although daily infections are lower in East Asia, people there are more likely than Europeans or Americans to wear face masks and clean their hands, according to a recent poll by Imperial College London and Yugov. Asians are also more likely to be infected, with Kore0% of South Koreans saying last month that they are afraid of catching the virus, compared to 58% of Americans and% of Spaniards.
Kim Ki-yu-joo, 26, who works in the office, said, “I’m more surprised and tired of wearing a mask all the time than seeing explosive cases like Europe or America.” Seoul. “We wear masks in and out of the subway, but other countries can’t control it because what is our view on keeping the infection low if sanctions remain?”
A waiter closes the bar terrace in Lille, northern France. Tourists and young people are the main drivers of resurgence of infection in Europe.
Photo:
Michelle Spillinger / Associated Press
Francisco Wu, owner of an Italian-Chinese restaurant in Milan, says culture helps explain various popular trends in the East and West.
“We have a habit of gaining a lot of freedom here – and that’s a great thing,” says Mr. Wu, 39, who grew up in Italy. “But we are not used to discipline, to self-sacrifice. If we stay locked in our homes for a month we get restless, we can’t take it anymore. “
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Asian governments have also prevented widespread infections due to surveillance tactics initially implemented. In South Korea, investigators use smartphone data, credit-card records and CCTV footage to locate close contacts of infected people. People must scan QR codes from their phones when entering nightclubs, karaoke bars or movie theaters to make it easier to track if there is an outbreak. In recent weeks, South Korean health officials have identified all but 20% of infections.
Despite being successful, such measures were criticized for violating privacy and have not been replicated in the West. Voluntary tracking applications, introduced in parts of Europe, for example, failed to make widespread use.
Clusters of infections have been found in Asia as people return to workplaces and schools. But instead of imposing stricter lockdowns, many Asian countries tightened social-distance guidelines and expanded testing as infections increased.
South Korea has reported the first major coronavirus outbreak outside of China, although the infection has been lower than that of the US WSJ’s Dusal Yun, which shows how smartphones have become the country’s most effective weapon against the epidemic. Photo: Dennis Bosnik for the Wall Street Journal (Originally published July 16, 2020)
The limited circulation of the virus will allow health officials to more closely detect close contacts of virus carriers and mount large-scale responses to even small outbreaks. Authorities began investigating the city’s nine million residents last week after finding 12 cases involving a hospital in the Chinese city of Qingdao.
The government closed sports stadiums, banned gatherings of more than 10 people and forced schools in the Seoul metropolitan area to return to learning online learning when a huge cluster connected to churches and rallies emerged in South Korea in Korea Gust. Cases reached 44 new daily infections at the end of August, and restrictions have since been lifted.
Strict quarantine rules have made a big difference across Asia. U.S. And instead of being left alone at home like in Europe, virus carriers are usually moved to government-run facilities, even if they are mild or have no symptoms. Close contacts of infected people in countries including Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore must also be in the quarantine facility.
In Western countries, quarantine rules are difficult to follow. In the UK, for example, people with Covid-19 symptoms and those living with them are advised to stay home for 14 days. But a study by researchers at King’s College Ledge London, published last month, found that public compliance with the rules was poor, with nearly three-quarters of participants saying they had left their home in the past 24 hours.
Asian countries also had more travel restrictions. Visitors are required to check for the virus, especially after arrival. Places such as Hong Kong, South Korea and New Zealand also require two-week government-monitored quarantine.
In the Asia-Pacific, or 1% of countries or territories remain completely closed to foreign tourists, according to a report by the World Tourism Organization.
A bar area in Beijing. The IMF expects China to become the only major world economy to grow this year amid the epidemic.
Photo:
Nicholas Asfari / Agency France-Press / Getty Images
When infection rates declined earlier this year, European governments quickly moved to reopen the continent’s internal borders and encouraged tourism during the summer. Tourists and young people were the main drivers of the infection, with the virus spreading widely in bars, nightclubs and beach-holiday destinations.
Thanks to the improved diagnosis, most people who get an infection in the summer have mild or no symptoms. But as cases continue to grow, so does hospital admissions and deaths.
“There was this idea of public health versus the economy in Europe during the summer, so we should open up a lot more to help tourism. Asia has not done that,” said Helena Legido-Quigli, a public health professor at Public University Singapore, currently located in Barcelona. Or not: you don’t have to choose between public health and the economy. “
Despite the growing number of infections, many Westerners are fed up with the restrictions on their social life and say they would risk catching the virus rather than stop seeing family and friends.
“I’m not afraid of all these viruses,” said Antonio Lopez, an 80-year-old resident of a senior care home on the outskirts of Barcelona. “And I missed my son badly.”
Jason Douglas in London, Jonathan Cheng in Beijing, Matthew Dalton in Paris, Peter Landers in Tokyo and Xavier Fontadegloria of Barcelona contributed to this article.
Write to Margarita Stancati [email protected] and Dasal.un on [email protected]
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