BANGKOK, 28 April 2021:
After a year in which the pandemic had almost passed in much of Southeast Asia, the region now faces a rebound in Covid-19 cases linked to the so-called British strain of the virus, while vaccination campaigns have been slow.
A new wave of infections in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos adds to the delicate situation in the Philippines, where a health system collapse is feared.
Thailand registered 15 deaths today for the second consecutive day, the highest number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic – fighting an outbreak that has hit Bangkok the most as authorities have made the use of masks in public places mandatory.
The country, the first in the world to confirm a Covid-19 case outside China, recorded moderate infections until April compared to others with a higher incidence.
However, after an outbreak linked by experts to the British strain spread rapidly among nightlife establishments in the capital, Thailand has exceeded 2,000 daily new infections.
Thai authorities have erected field hospitals to house patients and warned that tougher measures will be taken if infections continue to rise, while those inoculated with the complete vaccine schedule stood today at 240,000, 0.36% of the population.
Other countries such as Laos or Cambodia, where the pandemic had almost no impact, are also experiencing the virulent threat of Covid-19, and have implemented lockdowns in their capitals and some of the most populated cities.
Cambodia, which registered its first Covid-19-related death in mid-March, is up to 82 fatalities and has recorded more than 11,000 cases.
The Cambodian government extended its confinement in its capital, Phnom Penh and a neighbouring city for seven more days from today, following two weeks in which it has not contained the epidemic.
Laos, a country that had located only a handful of infections until April, marked its maximum number of infections yesterday at 75, and now has 511 total cases, although it has not registered deaths.
Both countries, political allies of Beijing, blame Thailand for their current outbreak and rely heavily on the Chinese-produced jabs Sinopharm and Sinovac for their vaccination campaigns. Cambodia, with almost 5% of the population already fully vaccinated, is faring better than Laos, with 0.8%.
The situation in Malaysia is also worrying as it observed a daily increase during its second Covid-19 wave with only 1.6% of the population already vaccinated.
The Red Cross on Monday warned of the risk of the collapse of hospitals in the Philippines, the second-worst hit country by the pandemic trailing only Indonesia, despite the strong restrictions Manila has implemented since last year.
The current outbreak, which reached its peak on April 17 with more than 15,000 new cases, is located in the capital and neighbouring provinces, where the occupancy of intensive care beds is at about 70%.
The Philippines, with 0.2% of its population on the full schedule, is one of the countries in the region where vaccinations are slowing down, while Indonesia has already vaccinated 7 million people with two doses, 2.6% of its population. Almost 19 million have received at least the first jab.
Although the rate of infections is decreasing in these countries, both Indonesia – with 1.65 million cases, including almost 44,940 deaths – and the Philippines – with 1 million infections and 16,916 deaths — remain epicentres of the virus in the region.
The military coup in Myanmar and the subsequent brutal crackdown on demonstrations in opposition to the army has thrown the country into chaos.
Testing for the virus has been practically halted in part due to a strike by health personnel that has closed 60% of hospitals.
The health situation in Myanmar, which before the Feb 1 coup was already worrying with 143,000 cases and 3,200 deaths, is now a complete unknown.
Singapore, which last year experienced a strong outbreak located in dormitories for immigrant workers, is the Southeast Asian nation where normality has practically been restored. There are plans to open international travel bubbles, having fully vaccinated 14.9% of the population, according to the latest official data dating back 10 days.
In Vietnam, an example in the management of the pandemic thanks to a quick response and effective tracking measures, the situation remains under control.
The country, which has closed its borders for a year, has only vaccinated 0.2% of the population, although the process is expected to accelerate with the start of mass production of the local dose in August.
Vaccination began in early April in Brunei and East Timor, and nobody has yet received the two injections of the drug, although there have been no major outbreaks of the virus recently and the situation remains under control.
– EFE