Coronavirus Is Surging All Over Asia and the Pacific. Here ’s What the Rest of the World Can Learn

As much of the rest of the world struggled with the coronavirus pandemic, it looked like many places across Asia and the Pacific were successfully suppressing the virus. Australia’s response to coronavirus had been so successful that some experts said it could be eliminated in the country. The number of coronavirus cases in Japan dropped significantly in late April following an earlier spike. And in Hong Kong, life had begun to resemble pre-pandemic times—employees had largely returned to office buildings and students had gone back to school. Officials across the region were starting to plan travel bubbles that would allow international business and tourism to resume, as well. But that optimism is being replaced with renewed lockdowns and social distancing restrictions as cases across the region tick up again. On Thursday, both Tokyo and Hong Kong hit daily records for new coronavirus cases. And a growing outbreak in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, forced the state of Victoria back into lockdown on July 8, with residents mostly required to stay home. On Friday, Australia hit the second-highest daily rise in cases, 438, with all but 10 in Victoria. Experts say resurgences like these—even in places that successfully fended off earlier stages of the virus—are inevitable, and should serve as a warning to the U.S. East Coast and parts of Europe that are reopening after apparently gaining control of their outbreaks. To be sure, the raw num...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Explainer overnight Source Type: news