Previous Ebola/SARS/MERS exposure was significantly associated with fewer COVID-19 deaths for part of the pandemic. Countries that experienced SARS or MERS were more likely to develop comprehensive testing policies than countries that had not experienced these diseases. South Korea and Taiwan, in particular, adopted legal frameworks after their SARS and MERS outbreaks that would grant special powers to their governments for testing and tracing to be used in future public health emergencies. Most Western countries, by contrast, were not affected by these diseases and therefore not incentivized to prepare for a future crisis.