No country is coming out of this unscathed. Even the ones that kept their cases low are going to be in a world of economic hurt. And they have far few ways to weather the storm than Western countries.
You're kidding, right? Look at unemployment rates in the EU or Japan compared to the US. These are all first-world countries and yet there is still a vast difference in outcome.
There are various degrees of being scathed. "Everyone gets scathed" is not an argument. Some did way, way better than others.
The US made a different set of choices to Western Europe with respect to unemployment. Europe (mostly) chose to maintain existing employment, while the US chose to make unemployment benefits much more generous.
In a short pandemic world, it's likely that the European strategy will perform better, while in a long pandemic world, the US strategy may perform better.
I do agree with the OP though, it's far too early to tell (except letting the unemployment benefits lapse in the US was almost certainly a bad idea).
Why is unemployment rate the definition of "success"? The US expanded unemployment insurance payment significantly. So if the gov't is giving businesses money to keep workers "employed" or just pay them through unemployment insurance, why is one better? It's still a gov't transfer to workers at risk.
And again, I wouldn't call out a "winner" just yet. Those decisions will likely have vastly different impacts post-epidemic.
There are various degrees of being scathed. "Everyone gets scathed" is not an argument. Some did way, way better than others.