Covid-19: Southeast Asia facing the rapid spread of the Delta variant

Published on : 07/10/2021 – 11:44Modified : 07/10/2021 – 11:46

Southeast Asia is being hit hard by the highly contagious Delta variant. Relatively spared in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is now recording a record number of deaths and contaminations, a situation linked in particular to the slowness of vaccination campaigns.

Indonesia is the most affected country with more than 38,000 new cases recorded on Friday July 9, six times more than the previous month. The number of daily deaths has meanwhile almost doubled this week compared to the beginning of July.

Hospitals in Java, the most populous island in the Indonesian archipelago, are under pressure and oxygen is running out.

In the capital, Jakarta, four of the five cemeteries reserved for Covid-19 victims are almost full.

Curfew in Bangkok

In Malaysia and Thailand nearly 9,000 cases were reported on Friday, a record rate for both countries. The rapid spread of the Delta variant in and around Bangkok has prompted Thai authorities to restrict movement within the country, impose a curfew and ban gatherings of more than five people.

An airport terminal in the Thai capital is being converted into a 5,000-bed field hospital.

Neighboring Burma, which had one of the deadliest days on Friday, has 4,320 new cases, while Cambodia has recorded a record of deaths and new cases in the past nine days.

The situation is also worsening in Vietnam, which is nevertheless a good student in the fight against the virus: more cases have been recorded in the last five days than in the first 14 months of the pandemic.

MRNA vaccines available towards the end of the year

According to health experts, the low screening rate in the region’s most populous countries, namely Indonesia and the Philippines, likely masks the true scale of the pandemic, while in Burma the number of tests collapsed since the February 1 military coup.

Immunization rates remain low. In Indonesia and Thailand, only 5% of the population is fully vaccinated. The figure drops to 2.7% for the Philippines.

With soaring cases and concerns about the effectiveness of locally offered vaccines, including China’s Sinovac vaccine, appetite is growing in Thailand for mRNA vaccines, but these will not be available until late in the year. year.

Singapore appears to be one of the few untouched countries in the region. The authorities are preparing to relax health restrictions in the city-state where nearly 50% of the population is now immune.

With Reuters