Note: I'm not sure if this thread belongs in Politics or as part of another existing thread
It might be interesting to discuss the success stories vs the failures so far in the COVID-19 pandemic. My definition of "success" is based on the number of deaths compared to the number of confirmed cases.
Success Stories:
Japan
Singapore
Taiwan
Hong Kong
South Korea
Not so Successful:
Pretty much every other country.
Factors of Success:
1. Widespread and systematic testing - testing is readily available on demand and the throughput for testing (amount of tests that can be completed per day) is significantly higher than unsuccessful countries) South Korea reportedly can test 10,000 people per day. Everyone is encouraged to be tested, symptomatic or not, which is crucial when dealing with this kind of covert virus. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-south-korea-scaled-coronavirus-testing-while-the-us-fell-dangerously-behind
2. Sufficient medical supplies / stockpiles for a pandemic. Countries like Japan already stockpiled a medicine to be used against the first SARS, which was ready to deploy when this pandemic emerged.
3. Innovative use of technology to alert, inform, and track the general public with regards to testing stations, active COVID-19 cases, and protocol for those who might be infected. In South Korea they send out alerts to all mobile phones about active cases within a 100 metre radius.
4. A compliant general public. The public in these countries is taking the outbreak seriously and following government protocol.
5. They actually had a plan. Because of past experience with MERS, SARS-1, Avian Flu, and Swine Flu, these countries have already developed a serious action plan to confront an epidemic.