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 Many parts of Asia, the region first hit by the coronavirus that
emerged in central China late last year, are finding cause to pause
the reopening of their economies, some after winning praise for
their initial responses to the outbreak.
Australia largely avoided the high numbers of cases and casualties
seen in other countries with swift and strict measures, but a spike
in community-transmitted cases in Victoria state and a rise in new
cases in New South Wales has worried authorities.
South Australia cancelled plans to reopen its border to New South
Wales on July 20, while Queensland introduced a mandatory two-week
quarantine for people who have visited two areas in Sydney's western
suburbs.
New South Wales, which has seen several dozen cases linked to the
outbreak in Victoria, said pubs will be limited to 300 people,
responding to an outbreak centred at a large hotel in southwestern
Sydney.
"Indoor activity, where people aren't seated is a huge health risk.
It increases the chance of transmission," state Premier Gladys
Berejiklian told reporters.
Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, is in the second week of
a six-week lockdown
WRONG DIRECTION
The number of coronavirus infections around the world hit 13 million
on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, climbing by a million in
just five days.
The pandemic has now killed more than half a million people in
six-and-a-half months.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the pandemic would
worsen if countries failed to adhere to strict precautions.
"Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong
direction, the virus remains public enemy number one," WHO Director
General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing on
Monday.
In the Northern Hemisphere, countries are racing to get a handle on
outbreaks before winter, which could bring a renewed surge.
A second wave of infections in Britain this winter could kill up to
120,000 people over nine months in a worst-case scenario, according
to health experts.
Hong Kong, which suffered remarkably few cases in the first wave of
the pandemic, will impose strict social distancing measures from
midnight on Tuesday, the most stringent yet in the Asian financial
hub.
Hong Kong recorded 52 new cases on Monday, including 41 that were
locally transmitted, health authorities said. Since late January,
Hong Kong has reported 1,522 cases and media reported an eighth
death on Monday.
"The recent emergence of local cases of unknown infection source
indicates the existence of sustained silent transmission in the
community," the Hong Kong government said.
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Walt Disney Co said it is temporarily closing its Hong Kong Disneyland theme
park from Wednesday.
China, which has contained a cluster in Beijing in recent weeks, loosened border
restrictions between Macau and the neighbouring province of Guangdong, sending
shares of Macau casino operators surging.
TOKYO TRACING
In Tokyo, health officials were trying to locate more than 800 members of an
theatre audience after 20 people including cast members of a recent performance
tested positive for the coronavirus.
Japan, which has not seen an explosive outbreak, is pushing ahead with its
easing of restrictions, with plans to reopen a runway at one of its biggest
airports, even as infections persist in big cities, rural areas and on U.S.
military bases.
India's tech capital of Bengaluru begins a new, week-long lockdown on Tuesday
after a surge in cases following the easing of restrictions. From about 1,000
cases on June 19, when the city was believed to have escaped the worst thanks to
contact tracing, it has gone up to nearly 20,000.
Health experts say the movement of people following the lifting of a nationwide
lockdown in June has led to Bengaluru falling back. Other cities, including Pune
and Aurangabad, have reimposed curbs in recent days.
The Philippines this week recorded the biggest daily rise in coronavirus deaths
in Southeast Asia and part of Manila will return to lockdown affecting 250,000
residents. A presidential spokesman said restrictions in other parts of the
capital were unlikely to be relaxed.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has resisted pressure to lock down due to
concern about the economy, despite the highest death toll from virus in East
Asia outside China.
Now, the governor of Jakarta is reported to be considering tightening some of
the relatively mild restrictions in place after a spike in cases in the capital.
Even Thailand, which has had no locally transmitted cases reported for six
weeks, has stepped up border security over concern about a second wave of
infections after the arrests of thousands of illegal migrants in the past month.
(Reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney, Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo, Farah Master in
Hong Kong, Karen Lema in Manila, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Agustinus Beo Da
Costa in Jakarta and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bengaluru; Writing by Lincoln
Feast; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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