Why have certain countries not suffered?

[Wilsonwilson]

There is a streamer I watch who has been trapped in Vietnam. They had a short lock down in march but have been fine since. Why? It doesn't make sense.

Because they have a competent government who took it seriously, locked down early, sorted contact tracing and quarantining, rather than abandoning it. This article goes into a bit more detail: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/20/vietnam-covid-economic-growth-public-health-coronavirus

My understanding is that the covid variant which is dominant in the east is significantly less infectious than the covid variant which has been dominant in the west since last March. I suspect that explains a lot of the difference. (Now the west has an even more infectious strain of course in the way of the UK variant).

It's not a great article but see here from last June www.express.co.uk/news/world/1302859/coronavirus-news-latest-mutation-strain-infectious-lockdown-social-distancing-china-Europe

Other factors could be population demographics and testing / reporting. Most western european countries have a much older population than African or Asian countries. Developing countries aren't generally testing as much as developed ones and may not notice much of a problem in hospitals if only a small proportion of their population is over 70. There may also be lower expectations for ICU care i.e. people won't be taking up beds if there are no beds to take up.

Climate must be another factor. We can see how sharply cases fell in the UK over the summer and how they didn't really increase again until the weather started to turn.

Population density and travel patterns within a country is probably another key factor. May explain why India has been badly hit whereas comparably developed countries which have a lower population density haven't been.

I'm sceptical than much of the difference is due to human intervention e.g. lockdowns, except maybe the very extreme Chinese or Australian approach. Most developing countries haven't been able to do the long lockdowns which western countries can and some of them still appear to have had low cases or at least low deaths / hospitalisations.

There are, of course, plenty of exceptions to that pattern which are hard to explain. e.g. Japan had relatively low deaths and cases until recently despite not having much in the way of formal lockdown.

The whole of the Asia-Pacific region has got off extremely lightly. There's something suppressing the virus, but I haven't seen any good explanations as to what.

Japan has done very little, and everyday life is far closer to normal than it is en Europe, yet their death rate is tiny compared to ours.

South Korea claimed to have suppressed it via test-and-trace, which was a disaster everywhere it was tried in Europe.

Cambodia is a poor and corrupt country with terrible public health, yet they've had hardly any Covid deaths.

I can't link to anything as I heard it on radio 4 several months ago but it was an expert talking specifically about Vietnam. He said it was highly likely that they had experienced something very similar to covid19 in the past and that exposure to that virus was giving them some protection now to covid. Obviously he was speculating but he was an expert in infectious diseases and its an interesting take.

It's not really an interesting take if he is an expert, exactly which virus have they been exposed to which renders most invulnerable? Why are we all locked down, whilst the southern hemisphere mostly carries on as normal.

Well one reason South Korea has done so well with track & tracing is that the population tolerate far more then we would here.

What are you on about? Track and trace could never work, especially in dense population. Wtf has South Korea got to do with anything.

Well I made it pretty clear I was talking about a radio programme I listened to months ago. So I don't know what virus it was and neither did he, he was speculating that it was likely that in veitnam they had already had a similar virus in the past.

The UK government is crap and our public services have been eroded for decades. We're highly individualistic and have little trust in government or institutions. It was a perfect storm of factors that led us here.

Africa has a much younger population; median age of 19 which is half of Europe. The warmer wealth helped & they did have some quick responses as they are more experienced in regards to pandemics.

South Korea had a tracking app in place very early on, it’s easier to trace every single contact if you do it early before the numbers get out of hand, also their population is far more compliant.

If Vietnam had a similar virus in the past why wouldn't it have become global, since international travel is common?

@Wilsonwilson was that to me? The thread title is why have certain countries not suffered. South Korea is a country & has done well.

It's really quite racist to say other countries are more placid and compliant. Like they just do what they are told, unlike us who can think for ourselves.

@Wilsonwilson

It's really quite racist to say other countries are more placid and compliant. Like they just do what they are told, unlike us who can think for ourselves.

Actually it’s more of an insult to us, there is a global pandemic, people in some countries are prepared to do what they are told to get through it, some people in this country are too stupid to do that

What?
Have you looked at the track & trace system S Korea have actually used? Have you been to S Korea, do you know the culture?

@Wilsonwilson

What are you on about? Track and trace could never work, especially in dense population. Wtf has South Korea got to do with anything.

But track and trace has worked in places like Korea. It's worked because they have a more compliant population due to the harsh dictatorship that they are used to obeying.

They were told to download an app that would track their whereabouts, they did it.

They were told to isolate completely if developing symptoms or testing positive. They did it.

They were told to wear masks, they did it.

That allowed track and trace to work.

We were given no app till it was too late, asked to download it, some did, lots didn't, some did but disable it when they go to break the rules.

We are asked to test if we have symptoms, most but not all do.

We are told to isolate if we have symptoms or test positive, some but not all do.

We are asked to wear masks and socially distance, and not socialise with other household, most but not all follow those requests.

@nancy75 do you really think that transmission of a virus is the fault of disobedient people? Do you really think that if you do everything right you can avoid illness foverver?

South Korea is not a dictatorship

The track & trace method used in S Korea is more akin to what we would use for criminal cases. Linking GPS, credit card transactions, CCTV etc. Our app was optional.

[quote Wilsonwilson]@nancy75 do you really think that transmission of a virus is the fault of disobedient people? Do you really think that if you do everything right you can avoid illness foverver?[/quote]
So what’s your take on it?
You’ve asked a question, you’ve been given answers you don’t like.
Tell us your view (let me guess, it’s all a hoax?)

Why are you so aggressive to people's opinions?

Why are certain countries seemingly not affected? It doesn't make any sense

@nancy75

South Korea is not a dictatorship

Sorry you're right, I read the earlier post as North Korea somehow which is defined as a dictatorship whereas south Korea is not.

That’s just repeating yourself

As a British person living in Asia, hygiene standards here especially during the pandemic are very high. 100% mask compliance in public even outdoors, hand gel at the door of every public indoor space, temperature checks, and cleaners wiping surfaces down with bleach hourly in shopping centers etc.

All children 3 years and older must wear masks in school classrooms, and wash their hands every 30-45 minutes.