The growing number of coronavirus cases in India has become a global concern. But India is not the only country in Asia in which the catastrophe is worsening. New waves of coronavirus infections are rapidly engulfing across South and Southeast Asia. In fact, some nations are facing the worst outbreaks since this unprecedented pandemic began.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said that India has accounted for around half of the global coronavirus infections and nearly a quarter of deaths that were reported in the past week.
But cases are also rapidly increasing in neighboring countries of India, like Sri Lanka and the Maldives. And it’s not only the neighbors of India but also countries further away in the southeast part of Asia. Coronavirus infections are also surging in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand.
On Wednesday, WHO said, “The Southeast Asia region reported over 2.7 million new cases and over 25,000 new deaths, a 19% and a 48% increase respectively compared to the previous week.” WHo further said, “India is currently driving the vast majority of this upward trend.”
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that more should be done in order to stop the tragedy unfolding across different nations in Asia.
In this regard, Alexander Matheou, the Asia-Pacific regional director of IFRC, said, “We need to act now, and we need to act fast to have any hope of containing this human catastrophe.” He further added, “This virus has no respect for borders, and these variants are running rampant across Asia.”
Sri Lanka
Instead of close proximity to India, the Indian variant of coronavirus had not been found in Sri Lanka as of last week. In fact, the country is facing a rapid increase in cases due to the profoundly contagious variant B.1.1.7. This variant was first of all detected in the United Kingdom and now is spreading rapidly in Sri Lanka. On Thursday, Sri Lanka sealed its borders with India as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Nepal
In Nepal, the situation is becoming worse, like in India. The infections are skyrocketing, and the nation is now reporting around 20 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people every day. It is the same rate at which India was reporting corona cases around two weeks ago.
The Maldives
The Maldives is another neighboring country of India, and on Tuesday, it reported a daily record of around 601 new cases of Covid-19. Since the economy of the country depends on travel, Maldives is still welcoming tourists from India.
Thailand
Last year, the numbers of coronavirus infections were low in Thailand due to strong containment measures. However, this year the country is facing challenges and is struggling to curb the third wave of Covid-19 infection.
Indonesia
In the past week, on average, Indonesia has recorded around 5,000 coronavirus cases daily. The country is worried about the upcoming Mudik holiday in which a lot of people travel to their hometown to see their family and celebrate Eid al-Fitr.
The new waves of coronavirus are continuously increasing across nations in Asia. In this regard, the countries need to take strict measures to curb the spread of coronavirus and keep people safe.
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Published by: Book Club
Source: NewsService
Release ID: 18626