Human Writes: The story behind those Covid-19 numbers

A photo from March of rows of coffins with Covid-19 dead in an Italian church receiving blessings from a priest. Italy’s ageing population was hard hit by the coranavirus before the country locked down. — AFP

“How East beat West on Covid-19”. So ran the headline. I’ve seen a number of such articles hailing the triumph of Asian nations, applauding regional case numbers like World Cup football scores. Some even extolled Asian cultures, crediting Confucianism. One article lauding Malaysia quoted a Singapore academic: “Ethnic Malay cultures ... promote banding together against common threats.” Erm, really? That’s how Malaysia beat the virus?

Covid-19 is complex, so comparisons and generalisations are problematic. There’s more behind the case numbers.