When Chef Eric Sze wakes up in New York City, he often uses Instagram to watch video clips of his friends in Taiwan singing karaoke. “It’s always the first thing I see in the morning,” Sze, co-founder of Taiwanese restaurant 886, told NBC Asian America. “There’s nothing like starting your day with another dose of FOMO” – or the fear of missing out.
Sze said he is jealous when he sees his parents, grandparents and friends in Taiwan – where there are less than 1,000 cases of coronavirus in a population of over 23 million – are living their normal lives while the US faces lockdowns, new variants of the virus, a slower-than-expected vaccine roll-out and an unfathomable 400,000 lives lost.
It is a common sentiment shared by many Asian Americans who watch their relatives and friends in Asian countries, such as Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, where widespread use of masks, experience past pandemics and government leadership including mandatory quarantines and cash contingencies have resulted in exceptionally low infection rates.
“I really 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 above 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 is “concerned but not surprised” by America’s response to Covid. 19: “The price of perceived freedom appears to be exponential with pandemics.”
When Las Vegas resident Carla Doan sees images of her family in Vietnam being carefree and socializing, she said she craves a normal mask-free life in the US.
In communist-led Vietnam, the public feels shared ownership of Covid-19, according to public health experts, and overwhelmingly supports the government’s rapid 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 Vietnamese ministries 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 deploying a labor-intensive contact tracing operation.
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 phones telling people how best to 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, ”said Doan. “I wish our leaders here would have done what they did.”
Doan said she was frustrated that half of Americans seem to adhere to mask mandates and social detachment rules, but “because the other half doesn’t want to,” it makes her feel her efforts are futile.
Her 16-month-old son was unable to throw a first birthday party due to the pandemic, and Doan isn’t sure he’ll have one for his second birthday too.
Some Asian Americans knew that collectivist Asian countries would control the virus and reopen faster than the US because they value 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 manage Covid-19 because the people are “community-oriented” and not individualistic.
The hyper-connected country of 51 million people benefited from fast and free testing and extensive tracking technology. South Korea has also learned lessons from mistakes made during the spread 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 didn’t,” Choi said. “In America, wearing a mask has been politicized when it shouldn’t be.”
When she sees family and friends walking or eating out in South Korea, Choi – who has a heart condition that puts her at high risk for Covid complications – said she’s “jealous that they’re in a place people care about. other people and take precautions. “
Choi’s parents live in Gwanju, South Korea and often ask their daughter about the US health care system. “They say America is kind of a joke,” said Choi. “America is supposed to be the strongest country, but they see us getting so divided and chaotic by a pandemic.”
She said South Korea’s universal health system is also making a difference.
“It [health care] is not a privilege there, which also helped them to quickly test people and get everything under control, ”Choi explained. “I talk to my mom every day and they get updates when a Covid patient is around. Here we have no idea who has it and many people don’t think it’s that big of a problem. “
Of course, not all Asian Americans are jealous of what is happening in Asian countries. While South Korea, a democratic republic, is innovative and transparent with its citizens, authoritarian countries such as Cambodia have been accused by human rights experts of falsifying case numbers and using the pandemic to undermine the rule of law.
In Cambodia, a country of about 16 million inhabitants, there are fewer than 500 infections and no deaths have been reported.
Some believe Cambodia’s low Covid-19 rates are because three quarters of the population lives in rural areas and spends a lot of time outside. Others say the number of tests is low and the Cambodian People’s Party, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, is not telling the whole story.
“The government is not giving any real numbers,” said Sindy Barretto, who lives in Pepperell, Massachusetts, and has family in Siem Reap and Battambang, Cambodia. “The prime minister is eligible, so he is going to try to reflect this image of security and that he has everything under control.”
Barretto stays in touch with her relatives abroad through Facebook, saying that when she sees photos of them in large groups, she “feels sorry” that they are not safe.
She believes Cambodia is losing lives to Covid-19, but the deaths are classified as the result of heat stroke or heart attack, based on conversations Barretto has had with family members.
While rates in Cambodia could be higher than reported, their hospitals are not overwhelmed like in the US or Europe.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Cambodia temporarily closed its borders to foreigners, especially from the West, and closed schools and entertainment venues. The country also quarantined nearly 30,000 garment workers.
While the Trump administration’s handling of Covid-19 has been widely criticized by public health officials at home and abroad, President Joe Biden recently issued a $ 1.9 trillion Covid-19 aid package aiming to vaccinate and vaccinate 150 million people. schools to reopen in its first 100 days. He also carries out a 100-day federal mask mandate and is deploying FEMA and the National Guard to set up vaccine clinics across the country.
“People in Asia certainly laugh at America for saying that we are supposedly a first world country and that we are dying faster than they are now,” said Barretto. “I still think we are doing great [in the U.S.] because we take precautions. If we don’t take all that social distance or put on a mask, I think we’d be worse off. It is what it is now. “