Coronavirus: Thailand scrambles to contain outbreak; Japan to declare emergency in Tokyo
- A new outbreak threatens to put Thailand back months in its pandemic battle amid fears daily cases could rise to more than 10,000 by later this month
- Japan will declare a month-long emergency in Tokyo and surrounding areas from Saturday as the country’s daily cases topped 6,000 for the first time
The country closed its borders and enforced mandatory quarantines for its own citizens, as well as the handful of foreigners allowed to visit. But aside from a few outward signs of the “new normal”, like the ubiquitous wearing of masks and reminders to practice social distancing, life resumed as though the pandemic had largely run its course.
But a new outbreak discovered in mid-December threatens to put the country back where it was in the toughest days of early 2020, when it tallied 3,045 cases and 59 deaths. Thailand’s Covid-19 coordinating centre has warned that the number of new daily cases could rise to more than 10,000 by later this month under a worst-case scenario if the government does not do more to curtail the virus’s spread.
The outbreak, first identified in a seafood market that employs thousands of Myanmar migrant workers, has now spread to 56 of Thailand’s 77 provinces with the country reporting an all-time high of 745 new cases on Monday. Wednesday’s tally of 365 new infections and one death bring its total to 9,331 cases and 66 fatalities so far.
Complicating its path to recovery, Thailand is playing catch-up in its bid to secure vaccines. Despite being a production hub for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the government has yet to secure enough doses to cover its population of nearly 70 million people.
As Thailand lines up Covid-19 jabs, doubts weigh on timetable
For now, Thailand is bracing for case numbers to continue to rise.
The Thai Navy has built four emergency field hospitals around the country, with up to 4,000 beds in Samut Sakhon and at least 500 beds in Rayong, on the eastern seaboard. Hospitals and expansions are also planned for Chantaburi and Chonburi, two coastal provinces southeast of Bangkok.
JAPAN TO DECLARE EMERGENCY IN TOKYO
Japan’s daily coronavirus infections reached at least 6,001 for the first time on Wednesday, with Tokyo and a number of prefectures including Osaka reporting record cases. The capital logged 1,591 new infections.
Toshio Nakagawa, head of the Japan Medical Association, called the situation “extremely serious” but stopped short of criticising Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for acting too slow to contain the latest outbreak, as some have suggested.
“Please take this virus seriously, and don’t think it’s just another flu,” Nakagawa said, warning hospital care was getting stretched thin.
Japan has confirmed more than 250,000 cases, including over 3,700 deaths.
INDONESIA SEES RECORD RISE IN CASES
It also reported 187 new deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 23,296. Indonesia has reported the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Southeast Asia.
President Joko Widodo said in a televised speech that he will receive a shot on January 13 to build confidence in the vaccine. “Next week, I will be the first to be inoculated with the vaccine to show that it is safe and halal as the vaccination programme starts nationwide,” Widodo said.
The government has a target of vaccinating 70 per cent of the population, or at least 182 million people, with health workers given the top priority. A minister said Indonesia will impose stricter restrictions on people’s movements and activities on the islands of Java and Bali for two weeks from Monday.
The restrictions to be taken in major cities on the islands, including the capital Jakarta, reflect rising bed occupancy rates at isolation facilities and hospital intensive care units, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said.
Under the stricter rules to be implemented until January 25, the capacity of restaurants and places of worship will be limited, while shopping malls will be subject to shorter operating hours.
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Thailand, Japan and China face new coronavirus outbreaks
INFECTIONS KEEP SOARING IN MALAYSIA
Four related deaths were recorded during the previous 24 hours, the ministry said, taking the total in the Southeast Asian nation to 513.
Malaysia has reported almost 125,000 cases of the virus in total, of which more than 24,000 are listed as “active,” according to Health Ministry Director General Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Hisham said 141 people are in intensive care units, of whom around half need breathing assistance.
Malaysia hospitalises anyone who tests positive for the virus, a policy that may have to be changed as the caseload grows.
Health officials have said in recent days that people with mild or no symptoms of Covid-19 could be asked to isolate at home if a bed shortage looms. More than 4,000 spare beds are available, according to the health ministry.
SOUTH KOREA ROLLS OUT MASS TESTING OF INMATES
Over half of the total 2,292 inmates and personnel in a prison in southeastern Seoul were tested positive after a first cluster infection was reported within the prison last month, Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official, told a briefing.
The justice ministry is separating the confirmed inmates by transferring them to a designated hospital, Yoon said.
Authorities will complete mass testing on some 70,000 prison inmates and staff nationwide, as the number of confirmed cases linked to prisons throughout the country surged to 1,191.
The health authorities will also decide whether to extend flight suspensions from Britain after at least 12 cases of a new strain of the coronavirus had been found, Yoon said.
South Korea reported 840 new cases as of midnight on Tuesday, a slight uptick from 1,029 a day before, bringing the national tally to 65,818 infections with 1,027 deaths.
The number of deaths linked to the coronavirus in South Korea passed 1,000 on Tuesday.
AUSTRALIA BRINGS FORWARD VACCINE ROLL-OUT
Australian health authorities are bringing forward the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines by two weeks to early March, even as recent outbreaks in the country’s two largest cities appeared to stabilise.
“We will continue to follow the safety and medical advice and will update our plans where new evidence or advice is available … our number one priority is safety,” Health Minister Greg Hunt’s office said in an email, noting the roll-out had been progressively brought forward.
The government plans to complete a mass inoculation programme for its 25 million citizens by the end of this year. Vaccinations will begin with doses from Pfizer, officials have said, with the AstraZeneca vaccine expected to be in use by March-end.
New South Wales state has recorded nearly 200 cases in recent outbreaks, mostly in Sydney, where some northern seaside suburbs are under a lockdown until Jan 9, while Victoria state has reported 28 cases in recent weeks. Both states reintroduced tougher restrictions on movement and made masks mandatory indoors to contain the spread of the virus.
Officials issued a new alert in Melbourne on Wednesday after discovering a subsequently infected man attended an international cricket match and shopped at a large shopping centre over the Christmas holiday period.
Australia has reported a total of just over 28,500 infections and 909 deaths, with border closures and speedy tracking systems helping keep numbers relatively low.
Chinese vaccine makers to apply for emergency use in Philippines
PHILIPPINES SEEKS 148 MILLION SHOTS
Carlito Galvez, a former general in charge of the country’s strategy to fight the coronavirus, said the government hopes to close deals with Novavax, Moderna, AstraZeneca , Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac Biotech and the Gamaleya Institute this month, although availability could be a challenge amid stiff competition.
“We will be able to purchase at least 148 million doses from seven manufacturers. However, that will be dependent on global supply,” Galvez told a media briefing.
The Philippines had earlier targeted 80 million doses and though it has been talking with vaccine-makers for months, the country has secured only 2.6 million doses, from AstraZeneca, paid for by a private sector group, which will give half of those to their employees.
AstraZeneca on Wednesday applied for an emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccines in the Philippines.
The country will get subsidised doses for 23 million of its people through the global vaccine partnership known as Covax, Galvez added.
Health care workers, elderly, soldiers, police, teachers and government workers will be prioritised in a roll-out that could start as early as the first quarter, he said.
Reuters, Associated Press
