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Coronavirus: why are Western countries like the US and Britain still not learning from Asia’s success?
- With locked down Britons only able to watch in envy as South Koreans party in karaoke bars, the benefits of Asian responses to Covid-19 are clear to see
- So why hasn’t the West copied the tech-heavy approach? Is it really fears over privacy or differences in culture – or is it just plain arrogance?
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While the French and English are barred from leaving their homes except for essential work, medical reasons, grocery shopping and exercise, South Koreans frequent restaurants, sing karaoke and drink at bars.
As the United States watches daily Covid-19 cases near 200,000, Vietnam reports infections in the single digits.
And as one Western country after another struggles to recover from its worst recession on record, Taiwan expects to exit 2020 without experiencing any economic contraction at all.
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After failing to handle the initial stages of the pandemic as well as many of their East Asian peers, Western authorities are again struggling to handle the virus as it returns in its second wave, seemingly resigning themselves to soaring cases or imposing lockdowns they had previously ruled out due to their heavy economic and social costs.
Almost a year since the virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, setting off a global experiment in pandemic response, Western governments remain unable or unwilling to emulate the experiences of Asian jurisdictions that kept deaths low while also minimising economic carnage and social isolation.
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“Most countries seem to be following their own approach, with little learning and adapting from the success of other countries,” said Jeremy Rossman, a senior lecturer in virology at the University of Kent.
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