Asia has surpassed the ominous milestone of 1 million deaths due to complications of Covid-19, according to a Reuters count, while the peak of the Omicron variant has spread throughout the region since it started in countries such as Japan and South Korea.
The death toll in Asia, home to more than half the world’s population, has risen to 1,000,045, accounting for 16% of all deaths from Covid-19 complications worldwide, according to the census.
The new cases are at or near record levels in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, but have declined significantly since peaking in India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Even mainland China, which has adopted a zero-sum strategy with strict measures, has faced a difficult test from the rapid spread of Omicron.
Deaths have skyrocketed in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Deaths from Covid-19 in Hong Kong averaged more than 200 a day last week, with the outbreak sweeping hundreds of nursing homes, hitting many of the metropolitan unvaccinated elderly.
The daily average in South Korea is 186 deaths, three times the level of the 2021 outbreak.
India, the world’s second-most populous country, accounts for nearly 52 percent of all coronavirus deaths in Asia and has seen a significant drop in the number of cases and deaths in the past month.
India reported less than 5,000 cases and 200 deaths a day in the last four days compared to its peak in January this year with more than 300,000 infections and 1,000 deaths each day, according to official figures.
China, Singapore and South Korea have vaccinated more than 85% of their population in two doses, but less than 40% of the population in Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are fully vaccinated, according to a Reuters analysis. based on data from the Our World in Data website.
In the wider region of Asia, about 65% of the population has taken two doses.
Hong Kong, which is considering mass testing for its 7.4 million inhabitants, has imposed its strictest measures, with restrictions on public gatherings, closure of most venues and cessation of flights from countries such as Britain and the United States.
In China, the number of new cases is growing steadily. Mainland China today announced more than 1,000 new local infections, the highest daily rate since Beijing brought its first nationwide outbreak in early 2020 due to rising asymptomatic infections. The country has not announced a single death since last January. However, it is too early for the world’s most populous country to consider easing the strict restrictions, as Omicron could still cause many deaths, said Liang Yuanyan, head of the COVID-19 prevention team.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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