(Long article. South Korea seems like heaven to me at the moment. Can the USA achieve what South Korea did? )
Parts of Asia that relaxed restrictions without a resurgence in coronavirus cases did these three things
KEY POINTS
- South Korea and Hong Kong successfully relaxed pandemic restrictions without having another rise in cases by data sharing, using targeted testing and contact tracing.
- The varying results of efforts across Asia to contain the virus and reopen society present policy options and perhaps lessons for countries behind on the outbreak’s timeline.
- Public health specialists who spoke with CNBC said they’re not confident U.S. officials are taking note of what’s working and not working in Asia.
The tulips were blooming in Seoul and Dr. Jerome Kim was strolling in his government-issued KF-94 mask with his wife when he got a text message alerting him to a confirmed coronavirus infection in his neighborhood.
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Kim, who serves as the Director-General of the International Vaccine Institute, clicked on the alert on his phone and it directed him to the municipal site, which detailed the infected individual’s whereabouts over the past several days.
The individual, who was anonymous, had visited a local supermarket on a recent Saturday between 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. to buy chilies, which was confirmed with CCTV footage and credit card transaction data, Kim recalled.
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That alert was one of dozens, if not hundreds, that millions of South Koreans have received since the coronavirus arrived in the country on Jan. 20, Kim said. He added that such sharing of information, despite its data privacy implications, has helped to keep the infection rate down even as businesses reopen.
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From data sharing and border closures to targeted contact tracing, some policies have proven more effective than others. Countries that were hit later by the virus are at an earlier stage in cycle of the outbreak and have a distinct advantage: insight into what succeeded and failed in other countries in Asia.
However, public health specialists who spoke with CNBC said they’re not confident U.S. officials are taking note of what’s working and what has failed overseas. They predict the virus will likely bounce back in the U.S. as it has in Singapore and Japan.
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Since the South Korean government never enforced a full lockdown, voluntary compliance has been key, Kim said. The government has encouraged employers to let nonessential personnel work from home, Kim said, and distributes free equipment like masks to every household that requests it.
Government messaging has been clear, consistent and mostly communicated by health officials rather than politicians, he said, which was key to mobilizing the public.
“Koreans have lived under the threat of war since the Korean War and this is like a war,” Kim said. “We’re going to do what we need to do to get through it. This is just part of living here, so people got used to it. The government pulled people together.”
Watching Americans protest social distancing requirements outside state capitals across the U.S., Kim said he wasn’t confident U.S. citizens could be as disciplined as South Korea. Mixed messaging from the White House and state leaders about economic reopening has not helped the public, he said.
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