Covid-19 cases are rising in Asia, but compared to the West it's a drop in the ocean

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Wed, 2020-11-25 15:01 — mike kraft

Analysis: Cases are rising in Asia, but compared to the West it's a drop in the ocean Across Asia, countries and cities that had previously kept the corovirus largely under control are seeing a surge in infections. But case numbers remain miniscule compared to the West. Analysis by Nectar Gan, CNN CNN

CNN)Winter is coming, for parts of Asia too.

Across the region, many countries and cities that had previously kept the coronavirus largely under control are seeing a rise in infections.

Last week, Japan's daily caseload surged to its highest since the pandemic began, surpassing 2,000 for five days in a row.

In South Korea, daily infections also rose from a relative lull in late September and October to hover above 300, the highest since late August. ...

Even in mainland China, known for its "zero-tolerence" approach against the coronavirus, sporadic cases have sprung up in multiple cities, from the financial hub of Shanghai and the port city of Tianjin to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

While the resurgence of the virus is certainly dispiriting as it dominates local headlines and leads to tighter restrictions ahead of the holiday season, the rise in cases in Asia seems more like a ripple compared with the second wave in the United States and Europe.

On Saturday, the US caseload surpassed 12 million -- an increase of more than 1 million cases in less than a week. In Europe, the number of daily cases have fallen from an early November peak, but are still well above 100,000.

To put things into perspective, with a population of around 10 million, the South Korean capital of Seoul reported 382 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, while Los Angeles County reported 3,692 cases -- nearly 10 times the daily surge in Seoul.

Despite their comparatively miniscule rise in infection numbers, Asian governments are taking no chances in efforts to curb the outbreaks.

In China, the response has been particularly swift and drastic. On Sunday night, the Shanghai Pudong International Airport conducted a sudden testing drive in a parking garage on more than 17,000 staff members, following a handful of cases among cargo handlers. In Tianjin, authorities tested 2.6 million residents in three days after reporting five locally transmitted cases. And in Inner Mongolia, a border town with Russia was partially locked down and all its residents tested over just two local infections.

As a result of Hong Kong's spike in cases, the highly-anticipated Hong Kong-Singapore "air travel bubble" was postponed -- less than 24 hours before it was due to launch. The scheme would have allowed quarantine-free air travel between the two Asian hubs, in an effort to boost business travel and tourism.

On Monday, South Korea declared an "emergency period" in Seoul until the end of the year. Public transportation capacity has been reduced by 20% after 10 p.m. and gatherings of more than 10 people banned. The city will also conduct regular coronavirus tests on some 40,000 workers and users of nursing hospitals and daycare centers. ...

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