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It’s fascinating (and depressing) to watch the difference in response between Asia and the West. I’m an American living in Myanmar. Here’s what’s being done in

It’s fascinating (and depressing) to watch the difference in response between Asia and the West. I’m an American living in Myanmar. Here’s what’s being done in my city all before there are any confirmed cases: - Cancellation of large events. - Free testing. - TV notices encouraging social distancing and hand washing. - Temperature checks and hand sanitizer dispensed at entrances of indoor crowded places like malls, grocery stores, large retail stores (not doing this really baffles me, since it’s so straightforward and practical). - School closures. - Travel and border restrictions. These are simple tactics that every country should be utilizing. Yet when I talk to my friends in US and Europe, they report no temperature checks or hand sanitizer. My family member just flew through SFO and said there were no temperature checks or hand sanitizer being dispensed. It’s sad and perplexing to me that common sense practical approaches to testing and spread control are not being utilized by many countries, and that closures have been reactive instead of proactive. It’s unfortunate that the UK is focused on actively ignoring practical efforts to control spread.

stefano 7y ago
Italy is doing all of those things.
- chishaku 7y ago
  Now they are. The key point being made is that these measures were put in place "before there are any confirmed cases."
sorokod 7y ago
Can you share the city name?
- alexmingoia 7y ago
  I’m in Yangon. I’m sure these measures are less prevalent in much of the country due to lack of development (around half the population lacks electricity, to give you an idea). But that just calls more attention to how apathetic the US and UK response are considering they are very developed with vastly more resources and expertise.
notahacker 7y ago
Most of this is being done in the West, and Westerners aren't as inclined to comply with government instructions as a typical Asian country even before we get to the specifics of Myanmar's situation (decades of authoritarian government requiring people to comply with bans as arbitrary as 'no bicycles in the former capital, because reasons' and parts of the country already with travel restrictions for other reasons)
tasogare 7y ago
As European living in East-Asia, I'm also stunned by how lightly the various Western governments, and people living under them, have taken this virus issue. It's like everyone think it will not affect them (first not their country, then not them personally) so they don't need to do anything. At first I was angry at my government seeing they did absolutely nothing for two months, but when I hear how people still react to it ("it's just a flu!") I start to think they actually need to see the consequences to understand how bad the situation is. Then they will be ready for next time, but sadly at a high price in term of deaths.
noja 7y ago
Your Asia versus West comparison doesn't hold up, because these the countries in those groups are not doing the same things. For example "Asia": Taiwan? or Thailand? Both have very different approaches. "West": the US? Or Italy? Same again.
- alexmingoia 7y ago
  When I wrote this I was thinking of China, Singapore, South Korea, Myanmar vs. USA, UK, Netherlands since those are places where I have contacts. A few weeks ago I was told that flying into Amsterdam there were no temperature checks. Same with flying today around US. Singapore was doing that months ago...
  - pmachinery 7y ago
    > A few weeks ago I was told that flying into Amsterdam there were no temperature checks. Same with flying today around US. Singapore was doing that months ago... I don't know who is handling this better, but Singapore also has people press on visibly filthy thumb scanners at immigration with no hand sanitiser to use afterwards (likewise other airports), bowls of candies for thousands of daily passengers to freely dip their sweaty hands into, and how do you rate this touchscreens in toilets, which seems like a terrible idea at any time.
  - bjornsing 7y ago
    You can add Sweden to the western list, probably as an extreme case. Some regions are not even testing for the virus except in really ill people and healthcare workers. One region says it’s still testing but that it will no longer publish the numbers. We’re still a week or two behind Italy, but my feeling is it could get ugly...
tsimionescu 7y ago
It's not just about the West vs Asia, the same urgent measures are being taken in Eastern and at least parts of Central Europe as well (slightly later, but IN Romania where I live, they started when we were at 25 confirmed cases, and the story is similar in nearby countries). I think several rich countries keep believing that they are somehow exceptional and that they can get away with not doing something which will impact their economies. I would be amazed if we don't see another few Italies, unfortunately...
dharma1 7y ago
Interesting. Which city are you in? I used to spend a lot of time in Yangon in Myanmar, my wife's family are Burmese doctors who emigrated to the UK decades ago. We live in London at the moment. They also find the difference in approach between Asia and the UK puzzling. I think the stark reality is, given how easily the virus spreads, you can play whack-a-mole with closures for potentially a very long time, but the virus will eventually spread and overwhelm the healthcare system. I don't know how many ICU beds there are in Myanmar but I'm afraid it won't be nearly enough, just like everywhere else. I've been to a public hospital in Yangon once, and it was full to the brim with very long waiting times. Ended up just leaving before I come out with something worse I went in with. This was during a time without any pandemic.
- alexmingoia 7y ago
  I’m in Yangon. I had temperature checks and hand sanitizer when going to city mart (a grocery store) yesterday. Same when getting on a bus to Kalaw last week, at the events I’ve been to the last month, etc.
  - dharma1 7y ago
    Makes sense as long as those temperature checks lead to something if you are showing an elevated temperature - rapid testing, and quarantine if you are positive. In China this process was like clockwork. What are you doing in Yangon btw? Mind if I drop you an email?
    - alexmingoia 7y ago
      I live here with my wife (who is from Myanmar). Yeah I don’t mind emails, inbox is always open :)
- ValentineC 7y ago
  > I've been to a public hospital in Yangon once, and it was full to the brim with very long waiting times. Ended up just leaving before I come out with something worse I went in with. Huh, I was down with severe food poisoning in Yangon in early 2016. A local associate of my friend brought me to the local hospital's A&E department, where I got an injection of some sort and diarrhoea medication. I was out of the hospital in probably 30 minutes. I'm not in the position to assume that their hospitals can handle a severe outbreak, but their medical system wasn't that bad when I had the unfortunate chance to experience it.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
lee 7y ago
> These are simple tactics that every country should be utilizing. Although simple, they have a large socio-economic impact. There're many of us who are privileged enough to not work for a short period of time, but a large number of people can't afford that. Is it worthwhile to shut-down schools before any reported cases? What if we encouraged those who are most vulnerable to quarantine themselves while the healthy population develops herd immunity? I think the heavy-handed response is partially based on the notion that the virus can be contained. It cannot. It will continue to spread, if not in your own country it will in others around the globe. Viruses don't respect borders. If we assume a that the spread cannot be stopped, then a better approach could be to maximize herd immunity while minimizing overall deaths and severe cases?
KozmoNau7 7y ago
Denmark is doing all of those same things as well. School closures, borders closed, all non-essential public staff sent home, everyone who can possibly work from home told to do so, most other people sent home with pay/compensation, officials telling us to practice social distancing and so on. And yet some people insist on going to bars, shisha joints, private parties. It could easily turn messy. Regrettably we imported a lot of our verified cases via Danes coming home from ski vacations in Austria and Italy, before we realized it was happening.
ardy42 7y ago
America is doing most of those things: > Cancellation of large events. Check > Free testing. Half-check: testing is free, but availability it totally inadequate. > TV notices encouraging social distancing and hand washing. Check. Not sure about "TV notices" but this advice is all over the media. > Temperature checks ... at entrances of indoor crowded places like malls, grocery stores, large retail stores US is not doing this. > hand sanitizer dispensed at entrances of indoor crowded places like malls, grocery stores, large retail stores Check. This is being done, but more by private initiative. > School closures. Half-check. These are happening, but it depends on the state. > Travel and border restrictions. Half check. Some restrictions are happening at the international border, but as far as I know, there are no formal internal travel restrictions.

stefano 7y ago

Italy is doing all of those things.

chishaku 7y ago
Now they are. The key point being made is that these measures were put in place "before there are any confirmed cases."

sorokod 7y ago

Can you share the city name?

alexmingoia 7y ago
I’m in Yangon. I’m sure these measures are less prevalent in much of the country due to lack of development (around half the population lacks electricity, to give you an idea). But that just calls more attention to how apathetic the US and UK response are considering they are very developed with vastly more resources and expertise.

notahacker 7y ago

Most of this is being done in the West, and Westerners aren't as inclined to comply with government instructions as a typical Asian country even before we get to the specifics of Myanmar's situation (decades of authoritarian government requiring people to comply with bans as arbitrary as 'no bicycles in the former capital, because reasons' and parts of the country already with travel restrictions for other reasons)

tasogare 7y ago

As European living in East-Asia, I'm also stunned by how lightly the various Western governments, and people living under them, have taken this virus issue. It's like everyone think it will not affect them (first not their country, then not them personally) so they don't need to do anything. At first I was angry at my government seeing they did absolutely nothing for two months, but when I hear how people still react to it ("it's just a flu!") I start to think they actually need to see the consequences to understand how bad the situation is. Then they will be ready for next time, but sadly at a high price in term of deaths.

noja 7y ago

Your Asia versus West comparison doesn't hold up, because these the countries in those groups are not doing the same things. For example "Asia": Taiwan? or Thailand? Both have very different approaches. "West": the US? Or Italy? Same again.

alexmingoia 7y ago
When I wrote this I was thinking of China, Singapore, South Korea, Myanmar vs. USA, UK, Netherlands since those are places where I have contacts. A few weeks ago I was told that flying into Amsterdam there were no temperature checks. Same with flying today around US. Singapore was doing that months ago...
- pmachinery 7y ago
  > A few weeks ago I was told that flying into Amsterdam there were no temperature checks. Same with flying today around US. Singapore was doing that months ago... I don't know who is handling this better, but Singapore also has people press on visibly filthy thumb scanners at immigration with no hand sanitiser to use afterwards (likewise other airports), bowls of candies for thousands of daily passengers to freely dip their sweaty hands into, and how do you rate this touchscreens in toilets, which seems like a terrible idea at any time.
- bjornsing 7y ago
  You can add Sweden to the western list, probably as an extreme case. Some regions are not even testing for the virus except in really ill people and healthcare workers. One region says it’s still testing but that it will no longer publish the numbers. We’re still a week or two behind Italy, but my feeling is it could get ugly...

tsimionescu 7y ago

It's not just about the West vs Asia, the same urgent measures are being taken in Eastern and at least parts of Central Europe as well (slightly later, but IN Romania where I live, they started when we were at 25 confirmed cases, and the story is similar in nearby countries). I think several rich countries keep believing that they are somehow exceptional and that they can get away with not doing something which will impact their economies. I would be amazed if we don't see another few Italies, unfortunately...

dharma1 7y ago

Interesting. Which city are you in? I used to spend a lot of time in Yangon in Myanmar, my wife's family are Burmese doctors who emigrated to the UK decades ago. We live in London at the moment. They also find the difference in approach between Asia and the UK puzzling. I think the stark reality is, given how easily the virus spreads, you can play whack-a-mole with closures for potentially a very long time, but the virus will eventually spread and overwhelm the healthcare system. I don't know how many ICU beds there are in Myanmar but I'm afraid it won't be nearly enough, just like everywhere else. I've been to a public hospital in Yangon once, and it was full to the brim with very long waiting times. Ended up just leaving before I come out with something worse I went in with. This was during a time without any pandemic.

alexmingoia 7y ago
I’m in Yangon. I had temperature checks and hand sanitizer when going to city mart (a grocery store) yesterday. Same when getting on a bus to Kalaw last week, at the events I’ve been to the last month, etc.
- dharma1 7y ago
  Makes sense as long as those temperature checks lead to something if you are showing an elevated temperature - rapid testing, and quarantine if you are positive. In China this process was like clockwork. What are you doing in Yangon btw? Mind if I drop you an email?
  - alexmingoia 7y ago
    I live here with my wife (who is from Myanmar). Yeah I don’t mind emails, inbox is always open :)
ValentineC 7y ago
> I've been to a public hospital in Yangon once, and it was full to the brim with very long waiting times. Ended up just leaving before I come out with something worse I went in with. Huh, I was down with severe food poisoning in Yangon in early 2016. A local associate of my friend brought me to the local hospital's A&E department, where I got an injection of some sort and diarrhoea medication. I was out of the hospital in probably 30 minutes. I'm not in the position to assume that their hospitals can handle a severe outbreak, but their medical system wasn't that bad when I had the unfortunate chance to experience it.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

lee 7y ago

> These are simple tactics that every country should be utilizing. Although simple, they have a large socio-economic impact. There're many of us who are privileged enough to not work for a short period of time, but a large number of people can't afford that. Is it worthwhile to shut-down schools before any reported cases? What if we encouraged those who are most vulnerable to quarantine themselves while the healthy population develops herd immunity? I think the heavy-handed response is partially based on the notion that the virus can be contained. It cannot. It will continue to spread, if not in your own country it will in others around the globe. Viruses don't respect borders. If we assume a that the spread cannot be stopped, then a better approach could be to maximize herd immunity while minimizing overall deaths and severe cases?

KozmoNau7 7y ago

Denmark is doing all of those same things as well. School closures, borders closed, all non-essential public staff sent home, everyone who can possibly work from home told to do so, most other people sent home with pay/compensation, officials telling us to practice social distancing and so on. And yet some people insist on going to bars, shisha joints, private parties. It could easily turn messy. Regrettably we imported a lot of our verified cases via Danes coming home from ski vacations in Austria and Italy, before we realized it was happening.

ardy42 7y ago

America is doing most of those things: > Cancellation of large events. Check > Free testing. Half-check: testing is free, but availability it totally inadequate. > TV notices encouraging social distancing and hand washing. Check. Not sure about "TV notices" but this advice is all over the media. > Temperature checks ... at entrances of indoor crowded places like malls, grocery stores, large retail stores US is not doing this. > hand sanitizer dispensed at entrances of indoor crowded places like malls, grocery stores, large retail stores Check. This is being done, but more by private initiative. > School closures. Half-check. These are happening, but it depends on the state. > Travel and border restrictions. Half check. Some restrictions are happening at the international border, but as far as I know, there are no formal internal travel restrictions.