Half of Global COVID-19 Cases in Asia... Vaccine Securing Demands for Local Businesses

53.3% of Recent Asia Cases
US and Europe Begin Full-Scale Vaccinations
Situation Reversed Since Late Last Year
Malaysia Toyota and Honda Factories Shut Down
Vietnam Demands Local Staff Vaccines Directly from Companies like Samsung Electronics

[Asia Economy Reporters Kwon Jaehee and Cho Hyun-ui] While the United States and Europe, leading countries in vaccination, have entered a stable phase in the COVID-19 situation, confirmed COVID-19 cases are sharply increasing in Asia, which was initially regarded as a model region for quarantine. Recently, more than half of the confirmed cases worldwide have come from Asia. In particular, COVID-19 cases are rapidly rising not only in India but also in ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, triggering alarms in the global supply chain.

According to the international statistics site Worldometer on the 1st, among the 3,486,868 confirmed cases worldwide in the past seven days, 1,857,489 cases were in Asia, accounting for 53.3% of the total. Considering that Asia accounted for 29.9% of the global cumulative confirmed cases, it is clear that the situation has reversed since late last year when vaccination efforts began in leading countries.

According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Toyota and Honda, which have local factories in Malaysia, decided to shut down their factories starting today. Consequently, production and sales in the local market will also be suspended. As of 2020, Toyota’s local production volume was estimated at about 50,000 units.

Toyota stated, "The timing for resuming factory operations will be determined considering future regulations by the Malaysian government." Honda is also halting factory operations. Honda’s Malaysian factory has an annual production capacity of 300,000 motorcycles and 100,000 cars, making it one of the major hubs in Southeast Asia.

The reason all companies operating in Malaysia have entered factory shutdowns is due to guidelines issued by the Malaysian government. In the past two weeks, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Malaysia has nearly doubled, and on the 29th of last month, the daily new cases reached a record high of 9,020. The number of new confirmed cases per one million population in Malaysia exceeds 200, surpassing India’s level. Accordingly, the Malaysian government has banned commuting for most industries from today until the 14th. The steel and automobile sectors are limited to 10% of their workforce, while the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors are restricted to 60%.

Thailand is also experiencing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases recently, raising concerns.

Nihon Keizai explained, "The focus is on Thailand, the largest automobile producer in Southeast Asia," adding, "Japanese automakers including Toyota have factories there and export finished vehicles to ASEAN, the Middle East, and Oceania."

Neighboring Vietnam has also sounded alarms for companies operating locally as daily confirmed cases reached record highs in May. Vietnam has seen more than half of its cumulative confirmed cases occur in the past month due to the spread of a new variant virus combining Indian and UK variants. In Bac Ninh Province, patients discovered during this period account for about one in ten of the cumulative confirmed cases.

As the COVID-19 spread intensifies, the Vietnamese government has requested foreign companies operating in the country, such as Samsung Electronics, to directly procure vaccines for their local employees. A Bac Ninh Province official, where about half of Samsung Electronics’ annual smartphone shipments are produced, told Bloomberg News, "The government is encouraging foreign companies to secure vaccines for their employees." Starting from the 2nd, Bac Ninh Province will implement quarantine guidelines requiring workers to live and eat within the workplace. This measure aims to halt commuting and minimize infections. Production sites in Bac Giang Province, where Apple and Samsung factories are located, recently closed following local government orders. A Bac Giang Province official stated, "We are supporting the reopening of factories that were closed during the shutdown of four industrial complexes."

Amid concerns that the COVID-19 spread will damage corporate production networks, the Vietnamese government recently distributed 200,000 vaccine doses each to Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces. Bloomberg News reported that "vaccinations are expected to be carried out within a week."

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