The COVID-19 Landscape in Asia and Europe Reversed After One Year

EU Rapid Vaccination Leads to Sharp Drop in Cases... Tourism Restrictions Lifted
Taiwan and Other 'Quarantine Model Countries' See Rising Local Infections Due to Slow Vaccination

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] About a year after the outbreak of COVID-19, the fortunes of countries that have been models of quarantine and those that have failed are diverging. Europe, which was criticized for its inadequate initial response, is now seeing growing economic recovery expectations as it races to secure vaccines. In contrast, Asian countries that were considered quarantine models last year are facing increased uncertainty as COVID-19 spreads again.

Starting from the 16th (local time), Italy will lift the five-day quarantine requirement for tourists arriving from the 27 European Union (EU) member states, the United Kingdom, and Israel who have received a negative test certificate within 48 hours before entry. Portugal will also open its borders from the 17th to citizens of EU member states, the UK, Switzerland, and Norway, on the condition of a negative COVID-19 test.

The reason European countries are reopening to foreign tourists one after another is the accelerating pace of vaccinations. Earlier this year, the EU even threatened export bans due to AstraZeneca (AZ) supply delays, but the situation changed significantly after signing a large-scale contract for 1.8 billion doses with Pfizer earlier this month.

With the expansion of the supply chain easing the supply bottleneck and the perception spreading that "you must be vaccinated to go on summer vacation," vaccination rates are accelerating. According to major foreign media and the international statistics site 'Our World in Data,' as of the 15th, 31.1% of adults in Europe have completed their first dose, nearly double the 17.48% recorded a month ago.

As vaccination rates rise, confirmed cases are also decreasing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), new confirmed cases in Europe in the second week of May were about 590,000, down to one-third of the 1.66 million cases reported in the second week of April.

On the other hand, Asian countries such as Taiwan, Vietnam, and Singapore, which were regarded as quarantine models, are experiencing a rapid increase in confirmed cases. Although they relatively well contained the initial spread of COVID-19 through swift quarantine measures, vaccine shortages and relaxed quarantine measures are cited as causes. With the continuous emergence of variant viruses, if vaccination rates remain low and quarantine measures are not thorough, the various achievements so far could be undone.

Taiwan, which had virtually zero local infections from April to December last year, now reports over 200 cases per day. Of the 207 new cases reported on the 16th, all but one were locally transmitted. Singapore also reported 49 new cases on the same day, with 38 being local infections. Although there were zero local infections from October to December last year, recently, cases with unknown infection routes have been surging.

The situation in Vietnam, which recorded single-digit cases in early March, is even more serious. The number of new cases on the 16th was 276, 13 times higher than the 21 cases reported a month earlier. Vietnam’s new case numbers have been increasing daily, from 49 on April 30 to 167 on May 10.

The delayed surge in these countries, once called the "quarantine model trio," is analyzed to be related to vaccines. In fact, the first-dose vaccination rates in Taiwan and Vietnam are below 1%. Bloomberg News explained, "This is an example of how difficult it is to create a safe environment from the virus without community vaccination." Regarding Singapore, where the first-dose vaccination rate reaches 33%, it analyzed that "the cause is the lowered quarantine vigilance as people attend concerts and go on cruise trips."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.