What China did to win war over COVID-19

I never left China when the outbreak of the virus was steamrolling over the country. China could have never imagined that 82,000 people would contract this virus and that more than 3,000 would die. It has been unprecedented, especially when compared with the SARS virus in 2002-03.

Now, even more astounding events have taken place as the virus reached the shores of the US and has already claimed the worst death toll on Earth. It is heartbreaking and devastating.

What the US can't imagine are the very things that I've watched unfold here in China over the past two and a half months. The rapid response, the highly effective actions and measures, and the cooperation of the Chinese people have been astounding to say the very least.

China took two drastic measures while other countries implemented only one. China immediately issued a lockdown upon realizing the potential of this virus. This move was pure genius. The second thing that China did involved the diagnostics, contact history assessments and treatment process.

A list of what China did right:

1. Locked down Wuhan and Hubei province immediately

2. Encouraged people who thought they might be infected to go directly and get tested

3. Thoroughly researched the contact history of each person who was confirmed to be infected

4. Restricted and limited the mobility of people so as to reduce human-to-human transmission

5. Made all testing and treatment free, a move especially vital for poorer people who might not get tested for fear of cost

6. Got every community and every business monitoring and checking temperatures at entry points

7. Very slowly resumed life while cautiously understanding the implications of reopening

Dr. Tedros of the WHO isn't favoring China for any other reason than that China got it right. The actions and measures that China took were amazing. I saw it all firsthand. The US can't accept the fact that China did it right and won the battle as quickly and as effectively as it has.

It has been amazing for me to be nearly sit on the front lines and see this miracle unfold.

Michael Murphy is a professional educator, an educational consultant, an author. He lives in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.