These 5 countries are the real COVID-19 ‘success stories’

And they're not the ones the media is talking about.

We are told by much of the institutional press and the global “public health expert” class that the countries that imposed the most restrictive lockdowns and the most widespread surveillance states are the true COVID-19 “success stories.” Yet these nations, now 8 months into the pandemic, face the prospect of being stuck in the lockdown cycle in perpetuity, absent a miracle cure. And despite all of these heavy restrictions, this incredibly infectious, but low morbidity disease is still finding a way to infiltrate their societies. The evidence is now clear: lockdowns provided no benefits, destroyed trillions of dollars in economic productivity, ruined millions of lives, and resulted in the decline of overall healthcare capacity (remember, the point of flattening the curve was to increase capacity) in most nations. Countries that locked down are already in much worse shape than those that took the rational response to the pandemic. And the latter countries are much closer to reaching their Herd Immunity Threshold.

Now, let’s examine the real coronavirus response success stories:

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Sweden: When the entire world was moving full speed ahead with devastating, country destroying lockdowns, cooler heads prevailed in Sweden, where they dusted off the time-tested pandemic playbook and made it clear that they were not going to impose brutal restrictions on their people. Herd immunity, in the least hurtful way possible, was always the goal, and it remains the goal today. And looking at Sweden’s COVID-19 deaths chart over the past few weeks, their ultimate goal appears to have been achieved. The one big mistake Sweden made was failing to protect their long term care centers, which account for the vast majority of the COVID-19 deaths in the country. However, the general population in the country has largely not been affected by the coronavirus, proving the thesis that their open society model is the best strategy to get through the pandemic.

Japan: The media has touted Japan as a coronavirus success story, but for the wrong reasons. Much of the media has applauded their universal masking practices. However, Japan’s real success story is first in its insistence upon leaving the country open, and second in not buying into the “testing testing testing” regime madness.

As for the “masks stop the spread” narrative, an antibody study out of Kobe City, Japan largely debunked the idea that the virus isn’t widespread in the nation. They found that hundreds of times more people were infected than actual confirmed numbers, largely disproving the hypothesis that masks stopped the spread. 

Japan has only conducted a little over half a million tests, in a nation of 125 million people. Only those with severe symptoms are tested. Their “keep calm and carry on” approach approach is working.

Taiwan: Similar to Japan, Taiwan simply isn’t testing much of the population, and the country remains open for business. Taiwan, a nation of about 24 million people, has only conducted around 80,000 tests. Society remains open with few restrictions. Professional sports are back, and only sick people are tested. 

Both Japan and Taiwan are keeping their casualty counts incredibly low. There are a lot of factors in play here, but the most underreported one is the fact that they share an incredibly low obesity rate. We know that the three most common underlying symptoms for people under 70 who die with the coronavirus are all related to obesity (obesity itself, asthma, and diabetes). There is also widespread speculation in the scientific community that citizens in east asia may benefit more from previously acquired t cell immunity.

Belarus: Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko flatly rejected the idea that his country should lock down to “save” his nation from the coronavirus. Instead, Belarus kept society completely open (well, for an authoritarian state, at least), and became one of the few countries in the world to continue professional sports and other events that involved large gatherings.

Lukashenko “suggested drinking vodka, going to saunas and driving tractors to fight the virus,” Reuters reported in April. 

Turkmenistan: In responding to the outbreak, the central asian dictatorship went with the “see no evil say no evil hear no evil” approach. They simply banned the use of the word “coronavirus.” The somewhat comical measure is still much more effective than, say, the liberty crushing, economy destroying lockdowns we saw throughout the rest of the world.

Conclusion:

1) Doing nothing is better than buying into the illusion of control that we must “do something” to stop the spread.

2) “Testing testing testing” leads to panic panic panic.

3) There is still no evidence that there is a way to “stop the spread” and avoid the herd immunity threshold.

Note: Some of the aforementioned countries have governed in an authoritarian manner and routinely abuse the liberties of their citizens. Don’t understand this piece as an endorsement of their governing practices. This is strictly a review of the coronavirus response.