When chef Eric Sze wakes up in New York, he regularly watches videos of his friends in Taiwan singing karaoke via Instagram. “It’s always the first thing I see in the morning,” Sze, co-founder of Taiwanese restaurant 886, told NBC Asian America. ‘Nothing like starting your day with a fresh dose of FOMO’ – or fear of missing out.
Sze said he felt jealous of living his normal lives with his parents, grandparents and friends in Taiwan – where fewer than 1,000 cases of coronavirus occur in a population of more than 23 million – while the U.S. struggled with lockouts. , new variants of the virus, a slower-than-expected rollout of vaccines and an unfathomable 400,000 lives lost.
This is a common sentiment shared by many Asian Americans who look after their relatives and friends in Asian countries, such as Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, where the widespread use of masks, experience with pandemics in the past and government leadership that includes mandatory quarantines and emergency cash payments has led to extraordinarily low infection rates.
“I think my biggest frustration is the lack of common support as a country,” Sze said of the United States. “I understand that bipartisan politics tends to divide the country, but part of me thought that humanity would always come before politics – apparently not.”
Sze, whose restaurant raised nearly $ 150,000 to provide 15,000 meals to hospitals and shelters during the darkest days of the New York pandemic, said his family in Taiwan was “concerned but not surprised” by the U.S. response to Covid-19: ‘The price of alleged freedom appears to be exponential with pandemics. ”
When Las Vegas resident Carla Doan viewed images of her family in Vietnam carelessly and socially, she said she longed to lead a normal, maskless life in the United States.
In communist-led Vietnam, the public, according to public health experts, feels a shared ownership of Covid-19 and overwhelmingly support the government’s quick response.
Despite a border wall with China and a population of 96 million, Vietnam reported fewer than 2,000 cases and 35 deaths during the pandemic.
Last January, the Deputy Prime Minister ordered the Ministries of Vietnam to take drastic measures to prevent the spread of the virus, such as closing and evacuating cities, imposing travel restrictions, closing the border with China and a labor-intensive contact detection to use.
Visitors and people who may have been exposed to the virus were sent to free quarantine centers for two weeks and the government regularly communicated with the public and sent text messages to telephones to tell people how to best protect themselves.
‘I think the difference [between Vietnam and the U.S.] is that when their government says to do something, everyone follows the guidelines, ”Doan said. “I just wish our leaders here did what they did.”
Doan said she was frustrated because half of Americans apparently follow mask mandates and social distance rules, but ‘because the other half are not willing’, it makes her feel her efforts are useless.
Her 16-month-old son could not hold a first birthday party due to the pandemic and Doan is not sure if he will also be able to hold one for his second birthday.
Some Asian Americans knew that collective Asian countries would manage the virus and open up faster than the US because they appreciated the needs of a group.
Diana Choi, who lived in South Korea as a young adult and now lives in Dallas, said South Korea has managed to run Covid-19 because its people are ‘community-oriented’ and not individualistic.
The 51 million hyperconnected country has benefited from fast and free testing and extensive detection technology. South Korea also learned lessons from mistakes made during the distribution of MERS in 2015.
“I knew they would take precautions, always wear a mask and social distance because they are so afraid of what people would think of them if they did not,” Choi said. “In America, wearing a mask is politicized when it really shouldn’t be.”
When she saw family and friends in South Korea walking or eating out, Choi – who has a heart condition that puts her at high risk for Covid complications – said she was “jealous” of being in a place where people care for other people and take precautions. ”
Choi’s parents live in Gwanju, South Korea and regularly ask their daughter about the US health care system. “They say America is a laugh,” Choi said. “America is supposed to be the strongest country, but they see us becoming so divided and chaotic about a pandemic.”
She said South Korea’s universal health care system was also making a difference.
“It [health care] there is no privilege, which was a contributing factor for them to test people quickly and get everything under control, ”Choi explained. ‘I talk to my mother every day and they find out if there is a Covid patient in the area. Here we have no idea who has it, and many people think it is not a very big problem. ”
Of course, not all Asian Americans are envious of what is happening in Asian countries. While South Korea, a democratic republic, has been innovative and transparent with its citizens, authoritarian countries such as Cambodia are accused by human rights activists of falsifying case numbers and using the pandemic to undermine the rule of law.
In Cambodia, a country of about 16 million people, there were less than 500 infections and no deaths reported.
Some believe the low Covid-19 rates in Cambodia are because three-quarters of its population live in rural areas and spend enough time outside. Others say that low test trials and the Cambodian People’s Party, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, do not tell the whole story.
“The government does not give real numbers,” said Sindy Barretto, who lives in Pepperell, Massachusetts and has a family in Siem Reap and Battambang, Cambodia. “The prime minister is eligible, so he will try to portray this image of security and that he has everything under control.”
Barretto stays in touch with her family members abroad via Facebook and says when she sees photos of them gathering in large groups, they feel sorry for themselves that they are not safe.
She believes Cambodia is losing lives to Covid-19, but that the deaths due to heat stroke or a heart attack are classified based on conversations Barretto had with family members.
Although the rates in Cambodia may be higher than reported, their hospitals are not as overwhelmed as in the US or Europe.
Early in the pandemic, Cambodia temporarily closed its borders to foreigners, especially from the West, and closed schools and reception halls. The country has also quarantined nearly 30,000 clothing workers.
While the Trump administration’s handling of Covid-19 has been widely criticized by domestic and foreign public health officials, President Joe Biden recently drafted a $ 1.9 billion Covid-19 aid package aimed at 150 vaccinate millions of people and reopen schools for the first time. 100 days. He is also implementing a 100-day federal mask mandate and deploying FEMA and the National Guard to set up vaccination clinics across the country.
“People in Asia are definitely laughing at America because they say we are supposedly a first world country and are dying stronger now than they are,” Barretto said. ‘I still think we’re doing a great job [in the U.S.] because we take precautions. If we do not do all this social distance or put on a mask, I think we will be worse off. This is what it is currently. ”