In response to rapidly increasing numbers of infections, authorities in countries like South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand announced or imposed Friday measures that they hope will slow down the spread of infection before it overwhelms health care systems.
This is a familiar rhythm in many parts of the world. In times past, repeated floods caused massive hospital closures and resulted in high death tolls. Many Asian countries have imposed strict travel restrictions and tough domestic measures to avoid this cycle.
Some are now seeing record numbers of cases and even deaths. This is partly due to the highly contagious Delta variant, low vaccination rates and the decision to relax restrictions that have harmed economies. Although overall numbers are not yet as high as those in the United States and Europe during the outbreaks, alarm bells rang in response to the rapid increase. This was just as Western countries with high vaccination rates started to feel some relief.
Thailand had 75 new deaths on Thursday, and 72 on Friday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, South Korea broke its record for new cases set on Thursday with 75 deaths. However, they had 1,316 infections on Friday. In Indonesia, hospitals are turning away patients and oxygen supplies are running low for the first time.
More than 90% of the 317,506 confirmed deaths and 2,534 deaths in Thailand since April have been reported since then.
The handling of the surge by Prime Minister Prayuth Chau-ocha has been widely criticized. This includes the decision to allow people travel to April’s Songkran festival, which celebrates Thailand’s New Year.
Thailand already has very strict rules regarding the wearing of masks and other measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. But the government announced more stringent measures for Bangkok and the region on Friday, including the closing of spas, the limitation of public transit hours, and restrictions on the opening times and hours of convenience stores and markets.
Cherkarn Rachasevet (60-year-old resident) said that there is something wrong with government policies. She wore four masks and a shield as she rushed to the grocery store to get supplies.
She regretted that her first shot isn’t due until the end of this month.
In the Asia-Pacific region, immunization rates are slowing for many reasons. These include production and distribution problems, as well as a wait-and-see attitude by many people early on, when there was less urgency and numbers were low.
South Korea, widely praised for its response to the pandemic which included contact-tracing and extensive testing, is now being criticized by critics who blame the government’s efforts to reduce social-distancing due to economic concerns. 70% of the population is still waiting to get their first shot due to a shortage of vaccine supplies.
However, the recent death toll was low. Authorities attribute this to the fact that many of those who were vaccinated were older Koreans at high risk.
Authorities announced Friday that they will impose their most severe restrictions next week amid a rise in infection rates in Seoul. These restrictions include the prohibition of private social gatherings with three or more persons after 6 p.m., closing nightclubs, churches, and banning visitors to hospitals and nursing homes. They also limit weddings and funerals for family-only events.
In the past few weeks, Indonesia has been more affected than any other country in the region. Over the past two weeks, the seven-day averages of daily deaths and cases have more than doubled.
Experts in health say the July 3 partial lockdown was too late. They warn that the current wave, which is mainly on the islands Java and Bali and a few cities located on Sumatra island, will soon spread across the archipelago. The pressure is already starting to buckle the system.
The tight national lockdown in Malaysia, where residents are restricted to their homes and only one person per household is allowed to buy groceries, continued to increase. Friday’s record 9,180 cases were reported. Since June 1, the death toll has more than doubled, to 5,903 in total.
This is the second nationwide lockdown in the last year. The government stated that it would remain in place until daily cases fall to below 4,000 and 10% of the population are vaccinated. However, it comes with a huge cost. Numerous businesses will be forced to close and thousands of people losing their jobs.
Vietnam also placed tighter restrictions Friday. They locked down Ho Chi Minh City for two weeks, making it the country’s biggest metropolis and financial and economic hub. Residents of the southern city are restricted from leaving their homes to purchase food, medicine or for urgent matters.
Vietnam was able limit its coronavirus cases down to 2,800 in the first year of the pandemic. The country also reported very few new cases during the three months leading up to April, when the numbers began to rise rapidly. The country has seen an increase of 22,000 cases in the past two months.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that while it was difficult to secure the city, “it is necessary to curb pandemics and get back to normalcy.”
About 4% of the country has had at least one dose. However, the Health Ministry stated that it plans to inoculate 70% by the end the year.
India is the exception to this regional rule. This may be because the surge of the delta variant was detected first. Slowly, the country has emerged from a difficult April and May. This was when hospitals were overwhelmed by infections and many crematoria had to burn bodies on pyres outside.
Although new cases and deaths are decreasing, less than 5% are fully vaccinated. Authorities are working hard to get more shots out and investing heavily in ICU beds and field hospitals.
Australia and Japan also announced restrictions this week. Japan is being closely monitored since the country’s emergency will mean that spectators will not be allowed to attend any of the venues at the forthcoming Olympics.
Gladys Berejiklian, the Australian state premier, said Friday that the discovery of the delta variant in New South Wales last month has made it the worst period of the pandemic. She announced new restrictions in Sydney following the reporting of 44 cases. This is in keeping with Australia’s strategy to quickly take targeted actions to stop new outbreaks.
She stated that New South Wales faces the greatest challenge since the pandemic began. “And that’s not something I lightly say.”
