There is a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the Western part of the world. Many nations are already announcing drastic measures to prevent the further spread of the disease such as the suspension of school operations and lockdowns, says an article.

Several weeks earlier, Asia was hit by the outbreak. Some Asian countries were praised for their ability to prevent the further spread of the deadly illness. Examples of these Asian nations were Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. They were able to control the total number of cases of the virus despite their proximity to mainland China, the country where the illness originated.

Here are some lessons from Asian nations that the west should take note of in combatting the deadly COVID-19:

Lesson 1: Take the illness seriously and take action immediately.

Medical experts are agreeing that the way to contain the COVID-19 outbreak is to isolate infected patients from the population, test widely, and enforce social distancing. These measures are being implemented in different western nations. However, the significant difference is that many nations did not do any actions immediately.

According to Tikki Pangesty, WHO's former director of research policy said that the United States of America and the United Kingdom lost the opportunity to act quickly against the illness. Pangestu said that the two western nations had two months to prepare since the outbreak began in China.

Lesson 2: Make the COVID-19 Testing Extensive and affordable. 

Initially, the COVID-19 cases in South Korea skyrocketed. However, when the country was able to create a test to detect the novel coronavirus among infected individuals, they were able to test at least 290,000 individuals. The country conducts approximately 10,000 COVID-19 tests for its citizens free of charge.

According to a National University of Singapore's professor on emerging infectious diseases Ooi Eng Eong, the way how South Korea handled the situation and performed mass screening of its population for the disease was remarkable.

After the outbreak of a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2015 where 35 lost their lives, South Korea had placed rapid approvals systems for infectious disease tests.

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Lesson 3: Trace the contacts of the COVID-19 patients and isolate them from the population. 

It is not sufficient to test only those who are positive for the symptoms of the COVID-19. Those who were in contact with the COVID-19 patients should also be subject to testing.

Detectives from Singapore have traced the contacts of those who were COVID-19 positive. The result of this measure was the testing of more than 6,000 individuals. The individuals were located by reviewing CCTV footage. These people were contacted and advised to self-isolate until the results of their tests were released. Also, in Hong Kong, tracing the contacts of COVID-19 patients goes back to two days before someone shows symptoms of the deadly disease.