The covid looms large and extends the health alarm in Asia

Since the coronavirus crisis began, most Asian countries, each with its own particularities, have been able to effectively manage the pathogen. There was the success of countries like Thailand, Vietnam, China, South Korea or Taiwan, where cases were rare and deaths were counted, especially compared to Western nations.

But in recent times, the roles seem to have been reversed. While the United States and Europe are vaccinated at large and are already considering opening their territories, in Asia the immunization campaigns have barely advanced, either because citizens are not interested – they do not feel the need or distrust – or because of the lack of injections. Added to the arrival of new, more contagious variants, the result is the appearance of new and virulent outbreaks that are forcing them to revive the restrictions that the West aspires to leave behind soon.

Slow vaccination and contagious variants worsen data in India, Nepal, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand

The cases of India or Nepal are notorious, where the virus has been running rampant for weeks. But not only. Only yesterday, Thailand or Taiwan, two of the model students until four days ago, registered the highest number of infected since the pandemic began (9,635 and 333, respectively). For their part, Hong Kong and Singapore suspended their imminent “travel bubble” due to the increase in cases in the second. And in Japan, pressure is growing to extend the state of emergency to the entire territory and cancel the Olympic Games.

The case of Taiwan is significant. Since the covid appeared, this territory of 24 million inhabitants registered some 1,650 cases and 12 deaths, figures that had allowed it to return to almost absolute normality. But the appearance at the end of April of an outbreak linked to a quarantine hotel has ruined his efforts. Since last Friday, 748 new cases have been detected, the majority in Taipei (capital) and New Taipei, which led to the imposition of the level 3 alarm.

As a result, the closure of schools for two weeks, restrictions on family gatherings, the closure of cinemas, bars and other entertainment venues and the suspension of entry of foreign citizens (except those who have a residence permit) and the passenger traffic. In the affected cities, there have been scenes of compulsive shopping – toilet paper or noodles are two of the star products – and the rate of vaccinations has accelerated, although for now it does not even reach 1% of the population.

Singapore cancels the travel bubble that it was going to open with Hong Kong, and Japan does not stop adding regions to the state of emergency

Thailand is another of those countries that had solved the ballot with remarkable until recently. With 70 million inhabitants, the nation barely added 30,000 infections and 95 deaths at the beginning of April. But since then, with only 1.1% of the population vaccinated, the number of cases has quadrupled and the number of deaths six-fold. In addition, of the more than 9,000 positives detected yesterday, almost 7,000 are from incarcerated people, which could have dangerous consequences in a country with a prison population that exceeds 310,000 people.

In the region, several neighboring nations have also already detected the Indian variant. Faced with the increase in cases, Malaysia –470,000 cases, 1,900 deaths, 3% vaccinated– is planning to confine the state of Selangor, the most industrialized and populated state in the country. In nearby Singapore, where normality was almost absolute until recently, restrictive measures have been imposed again due to a series of outbreaks, and the travel bubble that was to open with Hong Kong on May 26 was yesterday canceled after 38 cases detected on Sunday.

Another whose situation worries is Japan. As the number of cases increases and vaccinations do not take off (only 3% of its 126 million inhabitants), the authorities do not stop adding new territories to the state of emergency decreed at the end of April and then extended. Meanwhile, the latest survey shows that more than 80% of the population opposes the celebration of the Olympic Games, scheduled for ten weeks from now.

–