Asian nations, hit by Delta Covid-19 wave, tighten curbs on movement

Japan extends a state of emergency in Tokyo and other cities to September 12 and add several regions to the emergency zone.

A woman receives a Covid-19 vaccine at the Tokyo Dome this week. About two in five Japanese have been inoculated. Picture: Reuters

Governments across Asia are tightening restrictions on daily life and travel as slow vaccination campaigns have failed to halt the spread of infections with the Delta variant of Covid-19.

Japan said on Tuesday it would extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and other cities to September 12 and add several regions to the emergency zone. The measures had been set to expire on August 31. Hong Kong said on Monday it would tighten quarantine rules for people returning to the city after foreign travel and it added the US to a list of high-risk countries.

The additional restrictions are coming in countries and regions that have generally been more successful than the US and Western Europe in battling Covid-19. Some have imposed mandatory restrictions on public movement, while others such as Japan have requested voluntary steps and relied on widespread mask-wearing.

The news isn’t all bad, thanks to vaccinations. Deaths in Japan, where vaccination of people over 65 is largely complete, are running at about a quarter of the peak May level, and South Korea also has fewer deaths than the previous peak.

Still, the highly contagious Delta variant, spreading among populations that are generally less than half vaccinated, has led to unprecedented outbreaks.

Japanese government minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, summarising the advice of medical experts, said their message was: “The situation has become close to a disaster” and “If this continues, we will not be able to save lives that we could have saved”.

Shigeru Omi, the government’s top Covid-19 adviser, said some experts wanted new legislation that could compel businesses and the public to restrict their activities. “We may not get through this just by asking the public to co-operate,” he said.

Authorities in South Korea, which like Japan is battling its largest outbreak of infections since the pandemic began, said current restrictions banning gatherings of more than two people after 6pm weren’t able yet to suppress infections. That suggested the measures, currently set to end on August 22, were likely to be extended or made stricter.

Mr Nishimura said infection clusters were identified in places that hadn’t been previously affected much, such as department stores, hair salons and cram schools where teens attend classes after their regular school.

The Japanese government drew criticism from opposition parties and others for going ahead with the Olympics from July 23 to August 8 during the pandemic. Critics said the event sent the wrong message about the risks of Covid-19 and diverted government attention from vaccinations, while Olympics organisers said there was no evidence that visitors contributed to the infection wave.

Hong Kong, known for mandating some of the world’s longest quarantine measures, said the US, France and Thailand would be added to a high-risk list that includes some two dozen countries, effective Friday. Hong Kong residents returning home from those places must spend 21 days in quarantine at a hotel even if they are fully vaccinated.

Foreign tourists and unvaccinated Hong Kong residents will be barred from entering Hong Kong from high-risk countries.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the restrictions were needed to prevent imported cases of the Delta variant, which studies had shown could also be spread by vaccinated people.

Asian nations have generally been slower than the US and Western Europe in vaccinating their populations. In South Korea, only about one in five people has been fully vaccinated. The figure is about two in five in Japan, compared with half of Americans.

Both countries have taken steps to secure more vaccines from companies including Pfizer and Moderna, with the aim of getting most people fully vaccinated by late this year.

Meanwhile, public impatience with the progress in containing the spread of Covid-19 is aggravating political tensions. Economic hardship coupled with frustration over the slow pace of vaccinations has contributed to protests in Thailand and the resignation of Malaysia’s prime minister on Monday. Both countries are battling record caseloads of more than 20,000 new infections a day.

A slightly brighter picture has emerged in Indonesia, which has suffered the most severe outbreak among East and South-East Asian nations. Infections are beginning to decline, although the country is still recording more than 15,000 cases and more than 1000 deaths each day. The government has limited dining in restaurants and the size of congregations at places of worship on the main island of Java and neighbouring Bali.

The Wall Street Journal