Progress in Disaster Science · 2020 · 489 citations · 5 references
COVID‑19 emerged in Wuhan in December 2019, spread worldwide, and its mortality epicenter shifted from Asia to Europe while affected populations moved to the USA, with responses varying by local governance, socio‑economic, and cultural contexts. This paper analyzes the responses in East Asian countries—China, Japan, and South Korea—to identify commonalities and lessons. The study examines how extensive use of emerging technologies, alongside medical and health‑care treatment, enhanced response effectiveness and reduced disease spread. The analysis shows that governance decisions, community solidarity, and behavior significantly influenced outcomes across the countries.
Corona Virus (CODID-19) was first reported in Wuhan in December 2019, then spread in different parts of China, and gradually became a global pandemic in March 2020. While the death toll is still increasing, the epicenter of casualty has shifted from Asia to Europe, and that of the affected people has shifted to USA. This paper analyzes the responses in East Asian countries, in China, Japan and South Korea, and provides some commonalities and lessons. While countries have different governance mechanism, it was found that a few governance decisions in respective countries made a difference, along with strong community solidarity and community behavior. Extensive use of emerging technologies is made along with medical/health care treatment to make the response more effective and reduce the risk of the spread of the disease. Although the pandemic was a global one, its responses were local, depending on the local governance, socio-economic and cultural context.
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