Novel Coronavirus Outbreak – People in Asia Face a Second Wave!

South Korea, China and Singapore, because of people arriving from abroad, are among the Asian countries facing a second wave of coronavirus. The Wuhan region of China, where coronavirus first emerged, had announced that there were no new domestic cases on Wednesday for the first time since the outbreak began, a major milestone. However, 34 new cases were reported among people returning to China. Singapore reported 47 new cases, 33 of them imported, including 30 Singaporeans returning to the country. South Korea saw a jump in new cases on Thursday, with 152, although the exact number of those returning to the country is unknown. There is a new cluster centred on a nursing home in Daegu where 74 patients tested positive. Japan reported 3 new cases on Wednesday. However, after officials said that the spread of the virus had stopped, Hokkaido, the worst-affected Japanese region with 154 cases, is lifting the state of emergency that has been in place since February. Officials insist that people remain cautious and stay at home, but say there has been no increase in infected patients that would cause the healthcare system to collapse: "We have taken strong measures to avoid going out, but from now on we will move to a phase of reducing the risks of infection spreading while maintaining social and economic activities."

Detectives Racing to Find Coronavirus Cases in Singapore

China's National Health Commission (NHC) reported no domestically transmitted cases in China for the first time since the virus emerged last December. It also said there were no cases throughout Wuhan, the centre of the virus that was closed off earlier this year, but there were 34 cases arriving from abroad. China's total death toll remained at 3245, but questions about the reliability of China's data continue. All four countries are achieving success with domestic cases, but there are concerns that increases elsewhere could undermine their progress. South Korea was praised for its response to the outbreak, which included tracing infection, testing large numbers of people and rapidly isolating patients. The pace of new daily infections slowed after the outbreak peaked earlier this month. Before Wednesday's rise, the number of people contracting the virus had been in double digits for the past four days. Health officials warn that there is no reason to relax and again insist that people stay away from crowded places such as churches, nursing homes, internet cafes and karaoke venues. Coronavirus tests came back positive for 3 members of the national fencing team after they returned from a competition in Hungary. All 26 athletes and the coaches are now being tested.

Please Stay at Home

Much of the focus has now shifted to Europe and America, but the new figures do not show that the outbreak in Asia is over! Malaysia's senior health authority pleaded with people on Wednesday, saying "stay at home, protect yourself and your family, please". Malaysia, which is under partial quarantine, stated that the number of people with the virus was 710, the worst in Southeast Asia. In February, most cases were linked to a religious event in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's Director-General of Health, Noor Hisham Abdullah, said on Facebook, "We have a small window of opportunity to break the chain of COVID-19 infection." and continued, "Failure is not an option at this point. If we do otherwise and adopt a 'so what' attitude, we may face a third wave of this virus that could be bigger than a tsunami."

Conclusion

This novel coronavirus, which started in one region of China and spread around the world before spreading fully across China because of strict quarantine measures, seems to be returning to Asia. These developments offer important indications that the outbreak will continue to grow until summer, decline in summer, flare up again in autumn and could continue until an effective vaccine is found.

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