It could have been handled differently.
Cases / Fatalities.
While the West Panicked, Some Asian Regimes Took a Different Path | Mihai Macovei
More and more voices are questioning the rationale for the general lockdown imposed in most of Europe and the US in response to the coronavirus epidemic. Such unprecedented suppression of civil and economic liberties during peace continue to strike many as hardly justified.
https://mises.org/wire/while-west-panicked-some-asian-regimes-took-different-path