Three Months of Domestic COVID-19 Battle, Mixed Fortunes in Six Countries

Confirmed Cases Reported Early in South Korea, China, Thailand, USA, Japan, and Taiwan

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The 20th marks the third month since the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was reported in South Korea. The country began its battle against COVID-19 when a 36-year-old Chinese woman who entered from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, was reported as the first patient on January 20. At that time, only six countries worldwide had confirmed COVID-19 cases: China, the origin of the outbreak, along with South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and the United States. About 90 days later, the fortunes of these countries have diverged significantly. South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Thailand have passed their peaks or entered relatively stable phases, while the United States and Japan continue to see a spread of infections. Overseas, this difference is attributed to variations in active testing and management-based quarantine responses.

◆ South Korea, from second highest confirmed cases to stabilization= According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the U.S. and the BBC in the U.K. on this day, as of January 22, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide was 555. China overwhelmingly led with 548 cases, while Japan and Thailand each had 2 cases, and South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S. each reported 1 case. Three months later, as of this day, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the U.S. stands at 759,086, the highest in the world.

Among these six countries, China ranks second with 83,805 cases. However, since mid-February, China has passed its peak and has maintained new daily cases in the double digits since March, preventing large-scale infections. Next is Japan, with a cumulative total of 11,519 cases. From the end of March, new cases surged, surpassing South Korea. South Korea reported 10,674 cases as of midnight on this day, maintaining fewer than 30 new cases daily for over ten days.

South Korea experienced cluster outbreaks at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu and the Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, which caused the country to rise to second place worldwide in cumulative confirmed cases as of February 24. However, new cases gradually decreased from March 8, and the decline became more pronounced after the strengthened social distancing measures implemented on the 22nd of last month. Thailand had the second-highest number of confirmed cases worldwide after China at the end of January but saw a rise to over 100 new cases daily by the end of last month before entering a stabilization phase again. As of this day, Thailand's cumulative confirmed cases total 2,765. Taiwan, regarded as a 'model country for quarantine,' has not faced a major crisis, with only 420 cumulative confirmed cases.

Photo by BBC website capture

◆ Quarantine effectiveness based on scientific evidence= Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme, stated at a briefing on the 17th, "Taiwan has demonstrated excellent public health responses. The numbers reflect this," and praised Taiwan's efforts. Taiwan implemented proactive quarantine measures from the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, including controlling entry and exit. It also adhered to 124 behavioral guidelines across different infectious disease stages, such as travel bans, quarantine, surveillance, and social distancing, established after the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.

In contrast, Japan received a less favorable evaluation. Kenji Shibuya, a professor at King's College London (KCL), mentioned in an interview with the Japanese weekly magazine Aera that the expert panel formed by the Japanese government to respond to COVID-19 appeared to lack independence from politics. He pointed out that during the meeting held on the 1st, members did not recommend declaring a state of emergency and predicted that confirmed cases would not explode as they did overseas. He also criticized Japan's health authorities for limiting testing to avoid confusion in medical settings, which he deemed a flawed approach.

In the United States, some governors have advocated for widespread and accurate COVID-19 diagnostic testing. They opposed the federal government's recent moves to resume economic activities, warning that "premature decisions could lead to a resurgence of COVID-19 infections."

South Korea, ahead of these countries, has conducted 10,000 to 15,000 diagnostic tests daily, identifying confirmed cases early to prevent secondary and tertiary transmissions. Foreign media have repeatedly highlighted South Korea's approach of quarantine and management rather than movement restrictions. Earlier, Jeong Eun-kyeong, head of South Korea's Central Disease Control Headquarters for COVID-19, described the philosophy of the quarantine authorities as "infectious disease management based on scientific evidence and expertise."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.