China’s Coronavirus Back-to-Work Lessons: Masks and Vigilance

I will never forgive China. A cruel nation.

Something very clear from the article and the comments - the USA has a lot of soft power. It has used the good guys to push this image for a very long time and very successfully. Behind this good guy cover, the USA has perpetrated criminal acts not only on the rest of the world but on it's own citizens as well. Racism is something never associated with the USA, any other country would have been the subject of sanctions by now. While Trump is a personification of the real USA, others before him, including Obama have followed similar policies, all while putting on the good guy act. China is likely to lead the way in reopening its factories safely, but I suspect they might not advertise their failures. It will be the same in India, where Mr Modi has a very vocal bunch supporting him that will play down any failures - it is very useful to have a government propaganda division in democracies to help with running a dictatorship within a democracy. The USA has been a disappointment for the rest of world. Supposedly it is at the forefront of science and technology, and an example for the rest on how to do anything and everything right. We now have new leaders in tackling this crisis - maybe South Korea or even China. It's probably best for the USA and the rest of the world if we regard it as just another nation instead of a superpower. In fact, it is time to consider it a third world country for some races.

Well, as least we’ll all know exactly where we’re supposed to stand in an elevator. So, there’s that. #silverlinings

It is sad to read the comments here. For all the talk of freedom, democracy and exchange of ideas, it seems that the West remains far from openminded. A sense of superiority based on outdated stereotypes and deeply held bias has maintained a huge blindspot with respect to China and COVID. Sure China obfuscated and denied for a few weeks but when they decided to act, they went all out, with a science based response. The West alternated between expressing disgust at "wet markets" and outrage at China's "draconian"mitigation and containment measures, all the while certain that such a scourge as COVID could never gain a foothold in the advanced, hygiene obsessed West. And so we squandered the time we had to prepare. Then when it looked like China was taming COVID even as it began to ravage the West, we clung to the idea that they fudged and cheated because we could not fathom how they could've actually done a better job. Never mind that much of the West did way too little too late. It's like not studying then becoming convinced that the kid who did well cheated because you believe that you are inherently smarter. China has provided us with a playbook from the day that they began to take earnest action against COVID. Yet even now, we are blinded to a sound, science based approach because of bias and ideological differences. I know that many will reflexively dismiss me as a CCP bot. Understand when you do, that you are making my point.

I love how people still believe that China's numbers are "fake" and the real pandemic there must be 10, 20, 100 times worse. Think about this: in the early days of the pandemic, when only a handful of doctors knew about the disease, all it took was a single doctor, Li Wenliang, to post a message on Wechat to defeat the government's initial attempt at censorship and expose the virus to world wide public. You're telling me now, after months of global public attention being focused on this pandemic, if the "real" situation in China is much much worse than reported and thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people are sick and/or dying from Covid, that the Chinese government is able to conceal the magnitude of the situation, without massive number of people posting on various websites debunking the official story? Do you really think Chinese people are that stupid, or that the CCP is that powerful? Also, numerous WHO doctors and officials have gone to China and seen first hand what the situation on the ground is and none of them have disputed China's numbers. Sure, China definitely handled the situation poorly at the beginning, but once they realized the gravity of the situation, they mobilize the whole country to fight the virus. That's the reason they were able to contain it, they treated it like a serious threat, whereas Western nations didn't, thus people in the West are paying the price.

Wake me up when China starts telling the truth! I would be asleep forever. I know. As much as I dislike Trump, China & the WHO should be frowned upon after lies after lies that they had told the world. Since the outbreak, they have no intention of investigatinh the origin of this virus. Why? We know why.

Aren’t most of New York’s Corona deaths in nursing homes? Don’t those deaths outnumber deaths in all other states combined? And didn’t Gov Cuomo order that nursing homes take Corona patients? Huh!

I enjoy the photo of the JD.com employee checking in with his smartphone app (the individual on the left) wearing his face mask improperly, i.e., with his nose uncovered, providing a handy way for particles exhaled from his nose to settle on surfaces potentially touched by others.

All masks are not created equal. It doesn't help to say "wearing masks" . The mask has what percent of filtration? Does it protect self, others, or both? A N95 without an exhalation valve protects both with 95% filtration. If a large number of people wear high quality masks (N95, N99, P100), the virus will have nowhere to go.

Why would any country take any advice on the coronavirus pandemic from China. They kept everyone in the dark for three weeks and said the virus did not transmit from person to person. We now know they were not telling the truth which has spread the virus throughout the world. They allowed their citizens to travel worldwide and which spread the virus even more extensively. We should not listen to them until they apologize to the world for the tremendous death total and devastation.

I liked the pictures! Good idea to tape off the elevator floor, plus having a central location for employees to pick up their food orders so everybody isn't showing up at the entrance. I like a focus on innovative solutions and not obsessing about the problems.

Just as a side point - how can we look to China as an example of fighting our way out of this when they fudge the numbers? I think there's a plethora of better and more reliable democracies to analyse before deciding the best course of action moving forward. One thing seems clear: One size doesn't fit all.

Once any country starts reopening, they will see a rise in infections and nursing home deaths (if their country has nursing homes, that is). No one has come up with a way to protect nursing homes in the long term, and even under quarantine/isolation conditions they are still getting many deaths from COVID.

Time to admit the Swedes had the right plan all along. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-tale-of-two-epidemics-scientists-in-sweden-and-the-uk-fight-over-who-took-the-right-public-health-path/2020/05/07/104f60be-8a5b-11ea-80df-d24b35a568ae_story.html

China has still not said how the Virus came about.What goes around comes around.

Because China did not pursue herd immunity, they'll be stuck in this cycle until such a time as a vaccine may become available. Countries that pursued the idea of squashing the virus before it spread have only created the conditions for a wider second wave once the world opens again. In the US, our failed policies have allowed the virus to spread mostly unchecked and, in retrospect, when we don't face a second wave, it will be seen as the correct policy.

Why look to authoritarian China for models, when democratic countries with respect for human rights, like Taiwan and Australia, have controlled COVID-19 transmission successfully. Until China opens up to a full investigation of the true death toll in Wuhan and the full impact of steps it took, or didn’t take, the NYTimes should be looking elsewhere for models.

I think this is a legitimate question any country in the world should be asking now: do we really want live in an American style society today? Or should we move towards a more stable system even though that means if the government tells you “wear a mask” or “vaccine your children” or “no guns in the citizens hands” you must comply or face the consequences?

I feel the difference between China and the USA is that the Chinese let their Scientist and Doctors set up rules and guidelines for the citizens to follow, and I have rarely seen Xi publicly said much about this Virus. However, in the USA, we have a Trump show everyday and telling you to take Hydroxychloroquin, Injecting Disinfectants and etc, and all kinds of fake news play down this Virus as a common flu. There might be a need for some kind of punishment for spreading all these fake news during an public emergency situation.

here comes the comments saying China faked their numbers, and the real death toll in China is higher by “a factor of 10/20/30”. These are the same people who are urging to reopen the US economy, because the virus is just a bad flu and it’s been “blew out of proportion”. C’mon, you can’t have it both ways. Either China is lying or covid doesn’t kill. They are mutually exclusive. I suppose this shows people twist facts to fit them in what they WANT to believe. In China’s case, China bad therefore it must have lied. In the reopening scenario, they want to work, so they are gonna claim the virus is nothing. Such is human nature. Never will it change. Well just see it replay itself over and over again.

The entire article is about measuring T in millions ways and at millions places, plus washing / disinfecting hands. Who would be so stupid today to go out with fever? Such people should be jailed immediately. But, let's be reasonable - no virus that is very active, as this one, can be stopped that way. What I am trying to say is that they were very fortunate, I guess, to mostly have got rid of it, I do not know how, luck is certainly an option, and now they maintain sort of status quo. We are not there yet.

It's easier to impose those rules and have them followed when a country is under strict totalitarian rule. Also, let's not forget that for thousands of years most Chinese people have mainly been serfs/vassals/slaves under the total control of dynastic emperors. And similar treatment has continued since 1949. The only time Chinese citizens were "free" was during the Republic of China govt between 1912-1949. And even during that time, they had to deal with multiple Japanese invasions and occupations. History and culture cannot be ignored.

It is about time that US stops being arrogant. China succeed in control the virus while the US has not. Saying China is "authoritarian" is really a cop out. East Asian countries like Korea, Japan, Taiwan are all doing better than the US.

Our solution will not be the Chinese solution. We will not give up our freedoms out of fear. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. Instead, we must abandon the big cities and big institutions. Smaller schools, offices, and communities are the future- easier to quarantine to control outbreaks.

The west is always very good at analyzing what others did right & wrong. But increasingly I sense that it’s unable to provide any effective answer itself. The idea that “the end justifies the means” is still powerful, and if China manages to outperform the West in protecting its citizens from the virus(which it already does), then whatever accusation upon China as the origin of the troubles would feel weak and unconvincing. The contrast between what’s happening in China and U.S. now is stark and the world is seeing it very clearly. However democracy might sound great, if it is consistently outcompeted by China’s raw performance in economy, science, or public health, then it will lose.

Social distancing, masks, hand washing, contact tracing and sanitation let the Germans keep 80% of their factories open from the start with very few infections and no shut down. There's a way out, but it requires giving up hysteria.

C19-related laws are blatantly disregarded with the government’s approval in the US so strict measures wouldn’t stand a chance here. The salon owner in Texas is the poster child of this phenomenon.

The idea that China is providing an example for us to follow is wishful thinking. There is no parallel between the course set in the US as compared to China. There is little in the Chinese playbook that could offer any clues to a successful reopening given the undisciplined behavior of the US. You could point out that China faltered in the early days of the outbreak but there was no precedent or assurances that the virus would warrant the harsh measures that were eventually taken by the Chinese government. The US had a clear view of the looming threat and did nothing even as the numbers of infected Americans took off like a rocket. China's efforts, however belated, worked. Not only were the US efforts woefully belated, they were halfhearted at best. A large segment of the US population has shown themselves to be childish and unwilling to take reasonable measures for containment, choosing to instead to indulge their petty impulses for haircuts and ice cream.

I note that the picture with the JD.com employees checking in at work with their QR Codes reflects one of the employees not wearing his mask properly - exposing his nose, thus allowing his respiratory system to inhale possible infected air or exhale viruses directly into the air, should he be sick. It is obvious that governments and media need to do a better job at highlighting how to properly wear a mask - even folks in China do not get this right. Not certain about anyone else but I am personally frustrated by the number of people I see daily who expose their noses or mouths when wearing a mask, wear masks that are lose and therefore useless, or better yet pull their masks down to talk while indoors.

"Inconsistent";"Stricter than workers elsewhere might tolerate" Again with the myth that this country of more than a billion people is somehow a monolith. These "other workers" you speak of would rather protect whatever privacy they never had to begin with than the health of their coworkers.

As for me, an engineer working in a construction equipment corp, i have worked more than 3 months, since locking down eased in China except Wuhan. And we wear masks every day in my office with my colleagues. And every one must measure body temperature as long as you entered any buildings.

Again with the headline commentary. Anything China does, whether via official government policy or private businesses, has to be spun with an authoritarian lean. China locked down the cities? “Draconian and strict” even though much of Western Europe later followed suit. China opening back up? “Strict guidelines intolerable elsewhere” even though many are common sense and likely highly effective.