Unlinked coronavirus cases haunt Asian governments as they seek to reopen
- In Hong Kong and Australia, unknown methods of transmission prompt governments to implement sweeping measures
- On the other hand, South Korea and Japan have been able to take a targeted and nimble approach
A growing proportion of such cases in a city’s resurgence pushes governments, like in Australia and Hong Kong, to take broad and blunt action, returning entire cities to lockdown-like conditions.
“You can hardly contain the outbreak because you have no idea where they will come out next,” said Yang Gonghuan, former deputy director general of China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. “When there’s more cases where the origins are unknown, it adds to the difficulty for containment.”
In contrast, a low share of cases of unknown origins means that authorities can stay relatively relaxed – like in South Korea and Japan – even if total daily new infections reach the hundreds. These countries can take a targeted and nimble approach, shutting down schools or workplaces where clusters are found, but allowing the rest of the population to live normally.
This data point is a telltale sign of whether resurgences across the world will flare up into bigger waves, and if residents need to gird themselves for a return to lockdown.
Here’s a breakdown of how the places fighting flare-ups are using the number to guide their responses: