(1/3) There are countries that have not been badly affected by COVID-19.

Mortality (total deaths; deaths per 100,000):

Australia : 909; 3.6
New Zealand : 25; 0.5
Singapore : 29; 0.5
South Korea : 1,249; 2.4
Taiwan : 7; 0.1
Thailand : 70; 0.1
Vietnam : 35; 0.1

(2/3) Sceptics might argue the success of these countries has something to do with climate.

It doesn’t, because there are neighbouring countries that haven’t done well:

Indonesia : 25,767; 9.4
Philippines : 9,884; 9.0

Leadership is a decisive factor.

(3/3) Keys to success include:

Learning from SARS
Investment in public health
Border controls & quarantine
Masks
Widespread testing
Contact tracing
Aiming for #ZeroCOVID

Here’s how Taiwan - a democratic country - eliminated COVID-19: https://twitter.com/drzoehyde/status/1310933716777275398?s=21