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At least some of the 11 countries in the region have recorded record numbers of infections over the past week.
An old lady receives her first injection of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Manila, Philippines, June 2021.
Pandemic records continue to tumble in Southeast Asia, as the region’s governments struggle to control a region-wide surge of COVID-19 infections that is scrambling well-laid reopening plans and pushing health systems to the verge of breakdown.
Despite surviving the first year of the pandemic relatively unscathed, the region has been slammed by the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 and hampered by ineffective administration and sluggish vaccine rollouts.
Over the past week, most countries in the region have reported record levels of coronavirus infections and deaths, or both.
Indonesia, the region’s largest country and its worst-hit by COVID-19, has seen near-daily increases in the number of infections. It reported a new record of 38,391 cases yesterday, six times the number a month earlier, pushing its totals to nearly 2.4 million since the beginning of the pandemic. It has also seen almost 63,000 fatalities. Both are the highest figures in Southeast Asia.
The rampant outbreak has strained Indonesia’s healthcare system, with hospitals on the densely populated island of Java stretched to breaking point and running out of oxygen supplies. According to Reuters, 4 of the five designated COVID-19 cemeteries in the capital Jakarta are almost full.
A record 9,170 cases were also reported today in Malaysia, where the worsening COVID-19 infection rate (the worst in Southeast Asia on a capita basis) has now become a risk to the stability of the Prime Minister’s government. Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. A key best friend pulled him out on Wednesday night; One of the main reasons was the government’s mismanagement of the pandemic. The economic and health crisis threatening the country will most likely be exacerbated through a new iteration of the political crisis that has surrounded Muhyiddin’s administration for the past year.
In neighbouring Thailand, a new record of 9,276 cases was recorded today, following another record of 7,058 yesterday, prompting the government’s COVID-19 Situation Management Centre to impose more restrictions over a 14-day period, adding a nightly curfew and restrictions. in Bangkok and other restrictions in designated “red zones. “
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha also announced that he would not settle for one salary for the next three months, with the goal of donating the $11,500 to COVID-19 relief efforts, a move that, given the abundant wealth of the former general, has sparked much anger and ridicule on social media.
In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City will go into lockdown for 15 days from midnight Thursday to head off its own outbreak. While the country’s infection rates remain modest in regional terms, Reuters noted that the country has seen more cases in the past three days than during the first 13 months of the pandemic.
Crisis-hit Myanmar also saw more than 4,000 new cases for the first time yesterday – a figure that is probably much higher given the drop in testing efforts by the country’s military junta –while Cambodia has recorded its highest number of cases and deaths over the past two weeks.
This horrific picture represents a change from last year, when many Southeast Asian countries led the global COVID-19 lockdown. Perhaps lured into an illusory state of complacency by its early successes, the region is now like any other part of a return to normalcy. another region of the world.
Vaccination rates remain low, with 5. 3 percent of Indonesia’s population fully vaccinated, 4. 5 percent of Thailand’s population, and 2. 7 percent of the Philippines’ population. Malaysia has done more, fully vaccinating 9. 6 percent of its 32 million. other people, while Cambodia has vaccinated just over a fifth (these statistics come from the Our World In Data COVID-19 vaccine tracking system).
Southeast Asia’s dire scenario is reflected in the findings of the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index, released this week, which ranks 120 countries by their achievements in infection management, vaccination rollout and mobility.
Thailand ranks 118th out of 120 countries, just ahead of Malaysia (114th), Indonesia (110th), the Philippines (108th), Vietnam and Cambodia (tied for 100th) and well ahead of Laos (66th). The region includes Singapore (12th), where only about 38% of the population is now fully vaccinated.
What’s scary about the existing is that there are few signs of quick relief, given the increased contagiousness of new COVID-19 variants, persistent shortages of the most effective vaccines, and a mix of complacent leadership and distribution bottlenecks.
The heady days of late 2020, when pundits were puzzling over the low caseloads in countries like Thailand and Cambodia, now appear very far off. Absent another equally dramatic turnaround, Southeast Asia and its people stand on the verge of tragedy.
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Pandemic records continue to tumble in Southeast Asia, as the region’s governments struggle to control a region-wide surge of COVID-19 infections that is scrambling well-laid reopening plans and pushing health systems to the verge of breakdown.
Despite surviving the first year of the pandemic unscathed, the region was hit by the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 and hampered by inefficient management and slow distribution of vaccines.
Over the past week, most of the region’s nations have announced record highs for coronavirus infections, deaths, or both.
Indonesia, the largest country in the region and the hardest hit by COVID-19, has noted an almost daily increase in the number of infections. It reported a new record of 38,391 cases, six times more than the previous month, bringing its total to almost 2. 4 million since the start of the pandemic. There were also around 63,000 deaths. Both are the highest figures in Southeast Asia.
The rampant outbreak has strained Indonesia’s healthcare system, with hospitals on the densely populated island of Java stretched to the limit and depleting oxygen materials. According to Reuters, 4 of the five cemeteries designated for COVID-19 in the capital, Jakarta, are almost full.
A record 9,170 cases were also reported today in Malaysia, where the worsening COVID-19 infection rate (the worst in Southeast Asia in capita terms) has now become a risk to the stability of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government. A key best friend retired Wednesday night; One of the main reasons was the government’s mishandling of the pandemic. The economic and health crisis threatening the country risks worsening through a new iteration of the political crisis that has surrounded Muhyiddin’s tenure over the past year.
In neighboring Thailand, today brought a further record of 9,276 cases, following another record of 7,058 yesterday, prompting the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration to impose further restrictions for a period of 14 days, including a night-time curfew, travel restrictions in Bangkok, and other restrictions in designated “red zones.”
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha also announced that he would not settle for a salary for the next three months, aiming to donate the $11,500 to COVID-19 relief efforts, a move that, given the former general’s abundant wealth, has sparked much anger and derision on social media.
In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City will go into lockdown for 15 days from midnight Thursday to head off its own outbreak. While the country’s infection rates remain modest in regional terms, Reuters noted that the country has seen more cases in the past three days than during the first 13 months of the pandemic.
Crisis-hit Myanmar also saw more than 4,000 new cases for the first time yesterday – a figure that is probably much higher given the drop in testing efforts by the country’s military junta –while Cambodia has recorded its highest number of cases and deaths over the past two weeks.
This dire image represents a change from last year, when many Southeast Asian countries led the global COVID-19 lockdown. Perhaps lured into an illusory state of complacency by its early successes, the region is now like any other part of a return to normality. another region of the world.
Vaccination rates remain low, with 5. 3 percent of Indonesia’s population fully vaccinated, 4. 5 percent of Thailand’s population, and 2. 7 percent of the Philippines’ population. Malaysia has done more, fully vaccinating 9. 6 percent of its 32 million. other people, while Cambodia has vaccinated just over a fifth (these statistics come from the Our World In Data COVID-19 vaccine tracking system).
Southeast Asia’s dire scenario is reflected in the findings of the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index, released this week, which ranks 120 countries by their achievements in infection control, vaccination rollout and mobility.
Thailand ranks 118th out of 120 countries, just ahead of Malaysia (114th), Indonesia (110th), the Philippines (108th), Vietnam and Cambodia (tied for 100th) and well ahead of Laos (66th). The region includes Singapore (12th), where only about 38% of the population is now fully vaccinated.
What’s scary about the existing is that there are few signs of quick relief, given the increased contagiousness of new COVID-19 variants, persistent shortages of the most effective vaccines, and a mix of complacent leadership and distribution bottlenecks.
The heady days of 2020, when experts wondered about the low number of cases in countries like Thailand and Cambodia, now seem a long way off. In the absence of equally dramatic change, Southeast Asia and its other peoples are on the verge of collapse. of tragedy.
Pandemic records continue to fall in Southeast Asia, as governments across the region battle a regional wave of COVID-19 infections that is disrupting well-established reopening plans and pushing fitness systems to the point of collapse.
Despite surviving the first year of the pandemic unscathed, the region was hit by the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 and hampered by inefficient management and slow distribution of vaccines.
Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat.