The strategies pursued by South Korea, Vietnam & China are paying off. As of Nov. 1, the cumulative death rate per million is:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten">U.S.: 696
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches">U.K.: 685
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇫🇷" title="Flagge von Frankreich" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Frankreich">France: 563
vs.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇰🇷" title="Flagge von Südkorea" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Südkorea">South Korea: 9
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇳" title="Flagge von China" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von China">China: 3
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇻🇳" title="Flagge von Vietnam" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Vietnam">Vietnam: 0.36

[Chart shows data correct as of Oct. 30] https://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

The perception of an Asian advantage often falls prey to essentialist thinking: that the East is doing things the West could never do, thanks to profound differences in values, politics and culture, writes @LionelRALaurent.

That’s not necessarily the case http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

The key to avoiding more lockdowns is finding a way to “live with the virus” through:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💉" title="Spritze" aria-label="Emoji: Spritze">Widespread testing
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📞" title="Telefonhörer" aria-label="Emoji: Telefonhörer">Tracing of contacts
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😷" title="Gesicht mit Mundschutz" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Mundschutz">Isolating positive cases

Western countries have made structural, not cultural errors here http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Extensive testing rolled out too slowly & too late
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Not enough contact tracers
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Lack of enforcement and financial support to encourage self-isolation

These aren’t questions of philosophy but about implementation of policy http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

Compare that with Asia:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">South Korea tested early, and often
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">In Wuhan, 11 million people were tested over 2 weeks
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">The positive-test rate in South Korea and Vietnam is below 1%, compared to 10% in France and Spain http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

While contact-tracing strategies such as Hong Kong’s geofencing wristbands would spook the average Westerner, Europeans failed to implement alternatives properly.

Between July & August, the number of contacts traced per case in France fell to 2.4 from 4.5 http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

China & South Korea’s decision to monitor patients in special centers is worth considering.

Keeping people cooped up at home doesn’t seem much more liberal. It’s also less effective. One study suggests institutional isolation could avert 3x as many cases http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

The difference between Asia & Europe is rooted in recent, not ancient history. Over the past 20 years, Asia has been hit with several epidemics, including:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗓" title="Spiralkalenderblatt" aria-label="Emoji: Spiralkalenderblatt">2003 SARS
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗓" title="Spiralkalenderblatt" aria-label="Emoji: Spiralkalenderblatt">2015 MERS

These forced countries to invest in public health http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...

As Europeans enter winter lockdowns, they should remember that improvements are achievable.

If Asia managed to learn from past pandemics, the West should be able to as well http://trib.al/X4AUjxs ">https://trib.al/X4AUjxs&q...