New Zealand, Japan & Taiwan Most Covid-19 Resilient

Tokyo, Japan

New Zealand, Japan and Taiwan were the quickest to react and had the most effective handling of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic to date with the least amount of disruption to business and society, according to the “Covid Resilience Ranking” released by Bloomberg recently.

Completing the top 10 list among 53 countries were South Korea, Finland, Norway, Australia, China, Denmark, and Vietnam. Followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Germany, Thailand, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United States, Indonesia, and Ireland.

The Covid Resilience Ranking scores economies of more than 200 billion dollars on 10 key metrics, including rise in coronavirus cases, overall mortality rate, testing capabilities and vaccine supply agreements. Other factors include local health-care system capacity, the impact of virus-related restrictions on the economy, and citizens’ freedom of movement.

According to the findings, key to successful Covid-19 management has been effective testing, tracing, and health education – a hallmark of almost all of the top 10 performers; citizen trust in the authorities and their guidance; effective communication; investment in public health infrastructure; and social cohesion.

In terms of handling Covid-19 reality, Asia-Pacific is in the lead, while Western Europe and Latin America fall behind, the report found.

London, UK

It also revealed weaknesses of advanced economies such as the US and UK, which were considered ahead of 2020 to be the most prepared for a pandemic. Instead, both countries have repeatedly seen infection rates soar and the return of costly lockdowns, while other countries, many of which developing nations, have defied expectations, managing to keep the virus in check.

Greece was ranked 31st with a Covid-19 resilience score of 59.9 among 53 countries.