Asia struggling amid resurgence in coronavirus infections
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A countdown clock in Tokyo yesterday showing that 100 days were left until the start of the Olympic Games. Japan's tally yesterday of 4,312 new coronavirus cases marked its highest figure since Jan 28, putting its hospitals again under strain even as it prepares to host the Games.
PHOTO: REUTERS
A hundred days before Asia hosts the Olympics in Japan, the continent is struggling to battle a resurgence in coronavirus infections.
The rise of new strains of Covid-19, pandemic fatigue, the slow pace of vaccinations and the call by businesses to reopen battered economies are among the reasons for the rebound of the virus in many countries.
Japan, the world's third biggest economy, is suffering from a surge driven by the British variant that is 32 per cent more infectious than the original virus.
Japan's tally yesterday of 4,312 cases marked its highest figure since Jan 28, putting its hospitals again under strain. Osaka logged a new high of 1,130 cases.
South Korea reported 731 new cases of the coronavirus yesterday, the highest in over three months, as concern grew over a looming fourth wave of the pandemic. The country's vaccination programme is progressing slowly, fuelling fears the country will fail to achieve herd immunity by November.
Malaysian authorities too are worried about a fourth wave even as the registration rate for vaccinations has been slow.
It wants to vaccinate 80 per cent of the population by the year end, but nearly two months into the vaccination programme, less than 2 per cent have received the Covid-19 jabs.
In Thailand, the plan by tourist magnet Phuket to reopen could be derailed by a third wave of infections that has hit Bangkok and Chiang Mai in recent weeks.
The government will vaccinate most of Phuket's 400,000 population as part of sandbox plans to re-open Phuket to vaccinated foreign travellers on July 1, but some are sceptical this could be achieved.
In India, a second wave has seen new daily cases at above 180,000, double the peak of 96,000 in September last year during the first wave.
India's new infections hit a record level yesterday with 184,372 cases in the last 24 hours.
The Philippines, meanwhile, is coming out of another hard lockdown, and signs are it may have succeeded in putting a brake to an alarming resurgence in coronavirus infections since the start of the year. But the cost has been devastating to the economy.
