Coronavirus has shaken up the world upside down. All the developed and developing nations seem helpless in controlling the epidemic to date. Reportedly, almost 4.5 million people fell prey to the pandemic while around three hundred thousand lost their lives across the globe. The world economies are facing the worst ever economic crisis, people are losing jobs and companies are shutting down their businesses.

And, in this bleak time, there are some success stories. A number of countries have won the battle against COVID-19 and life is returning back to its usual pace.

China, the epicenter of the specter, has successfully defeated the virus, but how did China accomplish this with such a huge population? To understand Chinese success, the world needs to understand the nature of Chinese people and their trust in the government.

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, faced the longest lockdown, and the people remained inside their houses for 76 days, showing their commitment to fighting against the pandemic with patience and dedication.

Ignore the politics around the fatal disease and the mudslinging and conspiracy theories and let’s try to understand this success story with the version of Chinese people. The Chinese people are very obedient to the government and they think, in general, whatever policies the government is making are for their common good. So, they follow the orders and policies by the government with full trust. China is a disciplined society and this discipline helped them to fight against any disaster.

I conducted a small survey with some Chinese friends, asking how China has controlled the epidemic successfully. According to the surveyed Chinese people, the country’s leadership had taken proper measures in a short time and the main cause of this success was strict government control and quick response towards the COVID-19 patients while free treatment made it easy for the people to get them tested.

Organised management of testing, from central government to the provinces and from province to the city and to the county levels and every household helped China keep a track record of every citizen which ultimately helped the authorities to respond timely to curb the disease.

Thanks to new technologies, online statistics regarding everyone’s information had been collected by some mini-apps and the authorities were able to know everyone’s situation in real time. During the lockdown, the people needed to write about their situation online when going out to the supermarkets, etc.

Chinese are very dutiful when it comes to the collective cause. This obedience of the masses helps the government to enforce policies. The Chinese follow the government’s orders without questioning, which shows their faith in the leadership.

The hardworking Chinese lifestyle in all walks of life always pays them back. During the worst time of the pandemic, almost everyone contributed to control the pandemic. People isolated themselves into self-quarantine which they say was a help to each other. From medical staff to law enforcement agencies and staffers of supermarkets put their lives on the line and served the nation. Even before the epidemic, the Chinese had the habit to wear the mask (it is especially very common in winter) and during this time people were recommended to wear masks and gloves when they used to go out. All these measures helped China get over the epidemic and currently, there are very few new cases, but the Chinese authorities are still on their toes to act timely in case of any spike of the novel virus.

Although the situation is heading towards uncontrollable circumstances, the world can still save itself by following Chinese practices. Being careful is the biggest weapon to fight against the common enemy and we all need to use this weapon.