[xiler]

I'd say that's a bit of a false dilemma. Countries like South Korea and Taiwan have dealt with this problem far better than other countries despite having very few lockdowns [1,2]. Instead they have made use of government funded distribution of free masks and testing and now have a low or declining number of active cases [3,4,5].

[1] https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/30...

[2] https://chinapost.nownews.com/20200317-1094238

[3] https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3869320

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_T...

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_S...

[unishark]

South Korea passed new laws after MERS which allowed them to publicize personal health information. People get alerts telling them someone of a certain gender and age was tested positive and gives their prior activities. I suspect a lockdown would be easier to pull off in the US.

Taiwan has been passing new laws since SARS that allowed them to quarantine people. They also track people on quarantine via their phones.

If anything, I'd say the common denominator in handling this outbreak well is having experienced a similar outbreak recently and adapting to it, at least in part by swinging the pendulum further away from civil rights towards protecting the populace. Both SK and Taiwan's govts were also embarrassed and criticized after those respective previous outbreaks, prompting quicker action next time around.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51733145

[__Joker]

Yeah, people in SK and Taiwan seems to be more sensible than the people who are partying like there is no tomorrow.

On the other note I am kind of bit understanding how climate change can be tough sell. Here the effect of COVID is almost visible and people are/were in denial. Think about the effects of climate change which is into future.