Asia-Pacific Countries Should Lead The World On Zero COVID

American scientists, public health experts, and community activists—under the auspices of the COVID Action Group—have requested that Asia-Pacific countries and jurisdictions assume a global leadership role in promoting the “Zero COVID” approach to eliminating coronavirus.

Members of the COVID Action Group have reached out to representatives of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam regarding the establishment of an “Asia-Pacific Zero COVID Coalition” (AZCC).

“The proactive response of these Asia-Pacific countries has proven itself to be the best for saving lives and the economy,” said Prof. Yaneer Bar-Yam physicist and pandemic expert and founder of the COVID Action Group.

COVID Action Group co-founder Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding Epidemiologist & Health Economist added “With the rapid rise of more and more SARS-CoV2 variants of concern it is critical we redouble public health efforts to focus on Zero COVID strategies that can end the pandemic and have been successful in many countries around the world.”

The world needs a Zero COVID Coalition: even in the face of mutating coronavirus strains and a multi-year timeline for global coronavirus vaccination, most countries do not understand the Asia-Pacific Zero COVID approach, let alone have plans to adopt it.

Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam have achieved stunning success against coronavirus, and they could speed the global eradication of COVID-19 by promoting the key elements of their strategies. AZCC leaders make "Zero COVID" a national goal and rally people behind that goal. They treat every single new coronavirus infection as a significant threat and reject the notion there is a “safe level” of coronavirus transmission. They implement strict precautions to prevent the importation of infections from abroad. They carry out short and tight lockdowns to crush outbreaks when they first appear. And they provide supported isolation away from home for infected individuals.

The AZCC could promote the global adoption of the Zero COVID strategy through a public diplomacy campaign showcasing the success of AZCC members; identification of best practices for coronavirus elimination; technical assistance to governments interesting in implementing Zero COVID policies; and joint diplomatic efforts to mainstream the Zero COVID approach in multilateral bodies such as the World Health Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization.

We believe any international effort to support Zero COVID would be most effective if it is strictly divorced from geopolitics, though Asia-Pacific jurisdictions could coordinate closely with great powers such as the People's Republic of China, the United States, and European Union.

The COVID Action Group and its partner organizations hosted a COVID Community Action Summit January 26-28, featuring speakers involved in New Zealand and Australia’s public health efforts. This summit was open to all and free to attend. Learn more at: https://necsi.edu/c-cas

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