Covid hits Southeast Asia hard
Southeast Asia experienced a major surge in Covid-19 cases last month that has shown little signs of slowing, and the situation is expected to delay most of the region’s economic recovery.
Major economies in this part of the world including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines saw a sharp rise in daily reported cases and deaths from the disease in July.
Information compiled by online publication Our World In Data showed, based on a seven-day moving average basis, Malaysia recorded 515.88 confirmed Covid infections per million people on July 31. That number steadily increased since June 30, when it was around 180.85.
Behind Malaysia was Thailand with 236.02 new cases per million people on July 31, followed by Indonesia with 147.20 cases even as it imposed a partial lockdown and ramped up contact tracing and quarantine efforts. Cumulatively, Indonesia recorded more than 1.2 million new cases in July.
Vietnam, Philippines and Singapore also saw increases in daily new cases per million people, but the figures were smaller compared with those of the other three countries.
Bank of America in a research note last week said its calculations showed average daily cases in the region surged by 162% last month to reach a new record of 72,200, while daily deaths tripled from 500 a day to 1,500 people on average. Indonesia and Malaysia recorded the highest death rates per million population in July, according to the bank. The situation forced Southeast Asian governments to reintroduce lockdowns and social restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread as some ran out of hospital beds, medical equipment and oxygen supplies.
Malaysia struggled to tame the outbreak despite implementing multiple rounds of restrictions and a state of emergency. Reports say that the country will relax some restrictions for fully vaccinated people in eight states that have reduced case numbers and achieved higher inoculation rates.
Singapore tightened restrictions in July following the emergence of several clusters around karaoke lounges, wet markets and hawker food centers. Those measures are now gradually being eased.
Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand have extended some of the restrictions into August as reported Covid cases show no signs of slowing down.
The highly contagious delta variant has also been detected in the region, which adds to concerns around limiting transmission and complicates reopening plans. (CNBC)
source http://www.dailynews.lk/2021/08/11/local/256345/covid-hits-southeast-asia-hard
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