People wearing face masks stand on escalators at a hospital in Shanghai, China, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization has commended Asia's handling of the coronavirus.
Dr. Michael Ryan said on Monday the continent's "follow-through" in the fight against COVID-19 and its populations' greater trust in and compliance with their governments have given it a leg up against the novel virus.
He noted the ability of nations like South Korea, China and Japan to restart tracing, quarantine and isolation activities when needed.
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on COVID-19 at the U.N. health agency, also acknowledged that Asian nations had more experiences with viruses like SARS and MERS.
<Photo: Yonhap News>
