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The novel coronavirus pneumonia is not only highly infectious， but also has a high death rate due to a long incubation period and tricky symptoms. Before an effective vaccine and treatment for symptoms can be developed， the world will continue to face epidemic problems and challenges during a long-term battle with the virus.
China’s Approach
When the outbreak started gaining steam， China sounded the alarm about the novel coronavirus on January 20， 2020， when the whole country entered a state of emergency.
In general， China’s anti-epidemic approach has been a series of government-led lockdown and quarantine measures based on four pillars.
First， at the peak of the epidemic， the Chinese government took resolute measures to lock down the worst-hit city， Wuhan， and suspend the operation of schools and factories. Such isolation measures effectively cut off the spread of the virus.
Second， the national medical and health system was widely mobilized to successfully treat COVID-19 patients including providing adequate medical treatment for patients with severe conditions and providing quarantine， medical observation， and auxiliary help for patients with light and common symptoms.
Third， close contacts， suspected cases， and travelers from epidemic hotspots have been quarantined and observed in various ways including in hospitals， at home， in quarantine centers， and in other isolated areas.
Fourth， the central government optimally coordinated and allocated medical resources including the rapid construction of specialized hospitals and temporary treatment centers while organizing other provinces and municipalities in China to provide support to designated places in Hubei Province.
At the height of the epidemic， this approach brought remarkable results. After two months of effort at huge cost， China had essentially controlled the spread of the epidemic.
However， the global outbreak of COVID-19 hardly leaves China as a haven. How to resume the normal operation of the economy and society as much as possible while effectively preventing and controlling imported cases and cooperating with the world to fight the pandemic has become an urgent task for China today.
Developed Countries’Changing Responses
Developed countries in Europe and the United States demonstrated poor judgment， sluggishness， and lack of leadership in their respective responses to the COVID-19 outbreak at the early stage. As it worsened， they began to adopt greater crisis awareness and engage in extensive internal coordination to implement countermeasures in mid-March. Since the middle of March， governments of those countries have taken more effective actions. Their approach was gradually improved and adjusted with the development of the epidemic situation.
Developed countries began distributing test kits en masse and innovating methods of convenient testing to identify the infected while actively treating severe cases and requiring isolation for patients with light symptoms.
With the surge of infections， developed countries including the United States have adopted tough measures of closing schools， shopping malls， sports， and entertainment in key epidemic areas， urging people to stay at home and avoid going out if unnecessary.
Meanwhile， public transportation， supermarkets， logistics systems and other key public systems and facilities are operating as usual as essential businesses to keep society running.
During this process， technological and organizational innovations to fight the pandemic in developed countries have been impressive. For example， the United States and Britain greatly improved the testing capability of COVID-19 nucleic acid detection kits in just a few days， achieving shorter detection time and more accurate results.
The White House launched cooperation with major chain supermarkets to bring fast nucleic acid detection channels to parking lots across the country. Letting people stay in their cars effectively reduces the risk of stampedes and mass infections that could happen from crowds flocking to hospitals.
Furthermore， major biological research institutions， large pharmaceutical companies and university virus labs in Europe and the United States are operating at full capacity. Once a vaccine or effective drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms are successfully developed， the epidemic problem will be solved.
Impending Storm in the Developing World
From March to early April， COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in many major developing countries.
It is estimated that Latin America， Africa， and Asia （except for East Asia） will probably become new epicenters of the pandemic by April or May.
Considering the limited capacity of governments， social governance and medical systems in developing countries as well as the economic slump， crashing oil prices and increasing social chaos caused by the pandemic， developing countries could become squeezed with mounting pressure in coming weeks. Facing a once-in-a-century global crisis， the World Health Organization， the United Nations， the World Bank and other international institutions need to invest more funds， materials， and human resources to help the developing world fight the pandemic.
Providing a set of anti-epidemic principles， guidelines， operational plans， and specific methods for developing countries is a crucial step because many local institutions lack knowledge on how to prepare for the pandemic. At the same time， practical actions such as dispatching doctors and medical supplies directly to epidemic-stricken developing countries with scarce medical resources will be just as important.
After developed countries and China solve their own problems， they should set an agenda to aid the developing world and start work as soon as possible. This requires both humanitarian spirit and effective leadership and resource coordination capabilities.
Large global medical enterprises should also prepare for the impending epidemic situation in the developing world.
Various large foundations， charities and non-profit organizations should launch aid projects to help countries that may face the epidemic storm by providing knowledge， technology， materials， human resources and funds.
Theoretically， it should be possible to eliminate the virus completely through strict social distancing， but the likelihood of containing it absolutely is dropping as it creeps into every corner of the globe.
A more pragmatic strategy to fight COVID-19 requires more science-based measures and effective actions alongside gradually resuming as much normal societal operation as possible to reduce the economic impact of the pandemic.
Before developing countries get sucked into the whirlpool of the epidemic storm， developed economies and major powers should make big moves to help them brace for potential impact.
The time for real humanitarianism is now.
China’s Approach
When the outbreak started gaining steam， China sounded the alarm about the novel coronavirus on January 20， 2020， when the whole country entered a state of emergency.
In general， China’s anti-epidemic approach has been a series of government-led lockdown and quarantine measures based on four pillars.
First， at the peak of the epidemic， the Chinese government took resolute measures to lock down the worst-hit city， Wuhan， and suspend the operation of schools and factories. Such isolation measures effectively cut off the spread of the virus.
Second， the national medical and health system was widely mobilized to successfully treat COVID-19 patients including providing adequate medical treatment for patients with severe conditions and providing quarantine， medical observation， and auxiliary help for patients with light and common symptoms.
Third， close contacts， suspected cases， and travelers from epidemic hotspots have been quarantined and observed in various ways including in hospitals， at home， in quarantine centers， and in other isolated areas.
Fourth， the central government optimally coordinated and allocated medical resources including the rapid construction of specialized hospitals and temporary treatment centers while organizing other provinces and municipalities in China to provide support to designated places in Hubei Province.
At the height of the epidemic， this approach brought remarkable results. After two months of effort at huge cost， China had essentially controlled the spread of the epidemic.
However， the global outbreak of COVID-19 hardly leaves China as a haven. How to resume the normal operation of the economy and society as much as possible while effectively preventing and controlling imported cases and cooperating with the world to fight the pandemic has become an urgent task for China today.
Developed Countries’Changing Responses
Developed countries in Europe and the United States demonstrated poor judgment， sluggishness， and lack of leadership in their respective responses to the COVID-19 outbreak at the early stage. As it worsened， they began to adopt greater crisis awareness and engage in extensive internal coordination to implement countermeasures in mid-March. Since the middle of March， governments of those countries have taken more effective actions. Their approach was gradually improved and adjusted with the development of the epidemic situation.
Developed countries began distributing test kits en masse and innovating methods of convenient testing to identify the infected while actively treating severe cases and requiring isolation for patients with light symptoms.
With the surge of infections， developed countries including the United States have adopted tough measures of closing schools， shopping malls， sports， and entertainment in key epidemic areas， urging people to stay at home and avoid going out if unnecessary.
Meanwhile， public transportation， supermarkets， logistics systems and other key public systems and facilities are operating as usual as essential businesses to keep society running.
During this process， technological and organizational innovations to fight the pandemic in developed countries have been impressive. For example， the United States and Britain greatly improved the testing capability of COVID-19 nucleic acid detection kits in just a few days， achieving shorter detection time and more accurate results.
The White House launched cooperation with major chain supermarkets to bring fast nucleic acid detection channels to parking lots across the country. Letting people stay in their cars effectively reduces the risk of stampedes and mass infections that could happen from crowds flocking to hospitals.
Furthermore， major biological research institutions， large pharmaceutical companies and university virus labs in Europe and the United States are operating at full capacity. Once a vaccine or effective drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms are successfully developed， the epidemic problem will be solved.
Impending Storm in the Developing World
From March to early April， COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in many major developing countries.
It is estimated that Latin America， Africa， and Asia （except for East Asia） will probably become new epicenters of the pandemic by April or May.
Considering the limited capacity of governments， social governance and medical systems in developing countries as well as the economic slump， crashing oil prices and increasing social chaos caused by the pandemic， developing countries could become squeezed with mounting pressure in coming weeks. Facing a once-in-a-century global crisis， the World Health Organization， the United Nations， the World Bank and other international institutions need to invest more funds， materials， and human resources to help the developing world fight the pandemic.
Providing a set of anti-epidemic principles， guidelines， operational plans， and specific methods for developing countries is a crucial step because many local institutions lack knowledge on how to prepare for the pandemic. At the same time， practical actions such as dispatching doctors and medical supplies directly to epidemic-stricken developing countries with scarce medical resources will be just as important.
After developed countries and China solve their own problems， they should set an agenda to aid the developing world and start work as soon as possible. This requires both humanitarian spirit and effective leadership and resource coordination capabilities.
Large global medical enterprises should also prepare for the impending epidemic situation in the developing world.
Various large foundations， charities and non-profit organizations should launch aid projects to help countries that may face the epidemic storm by providing knowledge， technology， materials， human resources and funds.
Theoretically， it should be possible to eliminate the virus completely through strict social distancing， but the likelihood of containing it absolutely is dropping as it creeps into every corner of the globe.
A more pragmatic strategy to fight COVID-19 requires more science-based measures and effective actions alongside gradually resuming as much normal societal operation as possible to reduce the economic impact of the pandemic.
Before developing countries get sucked into the whirlpool of the epidemic storm， developed economies and major powers should make big moves to help them brace for potential impact.
The time for real humanitarianism is now.