[Genuine Realist]

Vietnam is not lacking in centralized authority and leadership.  Also, they rolled out a propaganda campaign to boost compliance that was well-received by the people.  One wonders whether the US would have done the same in a similar situation.

They weren't the only ones to figure it out.  Essentially all of the countries that were burned by China with SARS have in their pandemic response playbook to never assume China will tell the truth if a pandemic emerges from China.   Given that those countries had SARS issues, the people in those countries were ready to take action and discount any assurances coming from China.

The countries that ring China are doing fairly well with COVID-19, and will almost certainly benefit economically in 2020 & 2021 as a result.

Essentially, SARS served as a form of vaccine for COVID19.  The governments that had been burned by China's SARS stories were quick to take action when a familiar story emerged in late 2019 and early 2020.   The governments in Europe and the USA didn't have similar immune system responses.

Maybe when SARS-CoV3 rolls out of China the USA's government and citizens will be quick to respond too.

I had read that a disaster with SARS in 2015 had led to a complete reconfiguration of the pandemic response in South Korea. I hadn't realized that applied to all the nations that ring China.

Consider the implication. This is the SECOND time China has done this - within five years.

For reasons of domestic public dialog, many here are reluctant to blame China. I don't think that this applies to any other nation in the world.

[Genuine Realist]

Vietnam is not lacking in centralized authority and leadership.  Also, they rolled out a propaganda campaign to boost compliance that was well-received by the people.  One wonders whether the US would have done the same in a similar situation.

They weren't the only ones to figure it out.  Essentially all of the countries that were burned by China with SARS have in their pandemic response playbook to never assume China will tell the truth if a pandemic emerges from China.   Given that those countries had SARS issues, the people in those countries were ready to take action and discount any assurances coming from China.

The countries that ring China are doing fairly well with COVID-19, and will almost certainly benefit economically in 2020 & 2021 as a result.

Essentially, SARS served as a form of vaccine for COVID19.  The governments that had been burned by China's SARS stories were quick to take action when a familiar story emerged in late 2019 and early 2020.   The governments in Europe and the USA didn't have similar immune system responses.

Maybe when SARS-CoV3 rolls out of China the USA's government and citizens will be quick to respond too.

I had read that a disaster with SARS in 2015 had led to a complete reconfiguration of the pandemic response in South Korea. I hadn't realized that applied to all the nations that ring China.

Consider the implication. This is the SECOND time China has done this - within five years.

For reasons of domestic public dialog, many here are reluctant to blame China. I don't think that this applies to any other nation in the world.