‘If you are not prepared, the virus has found every weakness’: How countries in Asia tamed Covid-19

Tough and early intervention measures appears to have spared much of the region from the debilitating impact of the pandemic seen elsewhere

People eat at a roadside food stall in Taipei, Taiwan
Business is booming in Taiwan, despite the ongoing pandemic Credit: Shutterstock

A coveted window spot at Saffron 46, a chic India restaurant overlooking central Taipei, is hard to come by on weekends. Behind the bar, waiters quickly whip up cocktails, while chefs work at full speed, churning out curries, samosas, and chutneys to packed tables.

It's a scene that is replicated across the bustling bars and restaurants of the Taiwanese capital, where business is booming despite the ongoing pandemic. Downtown malls are crowded and glamorous party-goers once again have to join long queues for nightclubs.

Although Covid-19 emerged from China, nearby countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and, to a lesser extent, Singapore, have fared much better than Western nations in terms of safeguarding both the health of their populations and their economies.

East Asia has combined varying strategies of border controls, targeted quarantine and testing and tracing systems, that have offered an alternative path to the endless cycle of lockdowns that have stifled freedoms and crushed economies in the UK, US and Europe.

The short, sharp shock of tough and early intervention measures appears to have spared much of the region from the debilitating impact of the virus seen elsewhere.

“In the earlier part of the pandemic, even though there was no community spread in Taiwan, people were still scared. In that kind of environment, people pulled back and stopped going out and the retail and hospitality businesses suffered greatly,” said Tapesh Sinha, the owner of Saffron 46.

“The months of March and April were absolutely brutal for Taiwan, but it bounced back very strongly from May onwards.”

 A man checks the temperature of visitors at Xingtian Temple in Taipei, Taiwan
Visitors to Tapei's Xingtian Temple have their temperatures checked on arrival Credit: Shutterstock

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund predicted Taiwan’s economy would not contract this year and would grow by 3.2 per cent in 2021.

Key to restoring normality was the government’s clear communication of the strict measures that had to be taken to do so, said Mr Sinha. This generated public trust that fed into an already deeply rooted cultural belief in collective responsibility.

“People have the feeling that in the good of the society lies the individual good,” he said.

Breaking strict 14-day quarantine measures – compulsory for anyone entering Taiwan – is seen as the reckless endangerment of others and a matter of public shame.

In March, a man was fined £28,000 for skipping home quarantine to go out clubbing. The authorities slapped him with the maximum penalty as his night out was deemed “malicious.”

Public support for the tough restrictions needed to get the economy back on track has been vital through the hot summer months when most Asians been forced to forego their normal vacations. Borders have remained closed to foreign tourists with only limited entry for business travel. 

People have missed travel so much that thousands in Taiwan, Japan and Australia have booked “flights to nowhere,” created by airlines to bring in revenue by offering frustrated travellers a short flight experience, returning to the same airport.

People wear face masks at a Mass Rapid Transit train station in Taipei, Taiwan
People wear face masks at a train station in Taipei Credit: Shutterstock

Taiwan’s EVA airline laid on a Hello Kitty-themed aircraft that flew passengers along the coastline and over Japan's Ryuku islands. A similar sightseeing flight offered by Australian airline Qantas sold out in ten minutes.

But there has been little fuss over the short-term sacrifices that have allowed businesses and schools to remain open and restored the freedoms of normal daily life.

“We’re living in a free society. We are one of the few countries in the world that has the privilege of going out, of going to a party. I mean, who would not sacrifice that holiday?” said Mr Sinha.

In some ways the local Taiwanese economy has benefited from border closures, which first took hold in March, said John Hardyment, the CEO of Bayshore Pacific Hospitality, which owns 26 casual dining restaurants across Taiwan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“People who normally travel out to Japan, Hawaii or Australia or wherever they go on vacation had to stay home and travel around the island, which meant they had money to spend and they went to restaurants,” he said.

Less drastic precautions, including mask wearing, constant hand sanitising and monitoring people’s temperatures in public places have also restored confidence as well as keeping the virus at bay.

“People here are very diligent. That goes for the government, but it goes right down through the culture. Everybody is very aware,” said Mr Hardyment.

Business in China’s economic hub of Shanghai was also “roaring” again, he said, although the reopening only came after the government mandated a total shutdown earlier this year for just over two months.

China’s successful handling of the virus, at times through authoritarian means, has been judged an unsuitable model for more liberal western nations.

But Taiwan and South Korea also cherish their democratic systems after struggling in recent history against military dictatorship to achieve them.

Both have become vibrant democracies, with a free press and populations jealous of their right to protest. Adherence to government rules stems more from a sense of civic duty than submissiveness, and, to some extent, the trauma of recent outbreaks of Sars and Mers.

“There’s probably a collective belief of community, of responsible interactions, that your actions are hurting others,” said Dr Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul.

South Korea has experienced several outbreak scares but has managed to tame each new wave of infections, keeping cases below 26,000 overall. Seoul has dropped its social distancing measures to “level 1” allowing bars, gyms, churches and karaoke venues to reopen.

Dr Kim credits the country’s success to “incredibly high” mask usage, thorough testing and tracing strategies using both mobile technology and CCTV footage, and good preparation.

“The lesson of this pandemic is that if you are not prepared, the virus has found every weakness,” he said.

South Korea was quick to realise the importance of bringing the public on board.

“Really the question is around what the government does and how the government messages. The [South Korean] messaging has been very consistent. Rules come from the top. The president wears a mask. We’re all in this together and following the same rules.”

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