반면에 한국은 중국과 가까우면서 신속한 조치를 취하지 않고 의료 시스템을 향유한(enjoy) 국가로, 초기의 느린 대처와 뒤이은 감염 폭발로 비난을 받은 국가로, 또 섣불리 방역 승리를 선언했다가 정치적 반발에 직면한 국가로 평가했다.

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방역을 축구로 치자면, 대만은 방역 월드컵 우승국이고 한국은 예선 탈락국이다. 감염원 차단에 실패해 역병창궐한 시점에서 이미 본선 진출 자격을 잃었다. 어떤 언론은 WHO가 한국을 모범 사례로 제시했다고 가짜뉴스를 썼던데, 찾아보니 WHO 웹사이트나 트위터 어디에도 그런 표현은 없었다.

What We Can Learn From Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong

About Handling Coronavirus

By Laignee Barron / Hong Kong

March 13, 2020

Since she learned of the coronavirus outbreak, Amy Ho’s daily routine has gotten a bit more complicated. Coming home now involves sanitizing her shoes, washing her hands with soap and water, taking off her medical mask and changing her clothes.

The Hong Kong resident ventures outside only by necessity. She walks to and from work. Goes to the grocery store once a week. That’s it. Her teenage daughter has only left their apartment twice since the end of January.

“It’s annoying, sure. But our health is the most important thing,” she says.

Over Easter, the family looked forward to vacationing in the U.K. and Italy. But with the virus raging, they canceled.

Her precautions may sound drastic, but they’re hardly unique in a city that was among the first to be swept up in the global coronavirus crisis.

That Hong Kong has become a lodestar for its ability to seemingly keep the disease at bay, for now at least, is no accident: it’s desperate to avoid repeating the nightmare of a 2003 epidemic. Globally, SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome, infected over 8,000 and killed 774, including 299 in Hong Kong.

Though SARS devastated many Asian metropolises, in its wake, some doubled down on preparing for the next crisis.

“Somewhat perversely, we can look at SARS as the dress rehearsal,” says Jeremy Lim, co-director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation at the National University of Singapore. “The experience was raw, and very, very visceral. And on the back of [it], better systems were put in place.”

Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been hailed for using those hard-won lessons to combat the new coronavirus—officially COVID-19 and a relative of SARS.

It’s still too early for anywhere to declare victory just yet. But against the odds, these enclaves have succeeded at keeping their virus numbers low, despite their links to China. Perhaps governments in North America and Europe, which are now bearing the brunt of the pandemic, can emulate their best practices, and turn the tide on an infection spreading rapidly through the global population.

Act quickly

For Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the story could easily have been one of catastrophe. The novel coronavirus emerged just in time for Lunar New Year, when millions travel across the region in the world’s largest annual human migration. All three territories are closely interconnected with mainland China, with direct flights to Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter.

Yet even as the virus continues its seemingly inexorable spread—ticking upward of 132,500 cases Friday—recoveries in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong are starting to outpace, or catch up with, active cases.