COVID-19 pandemic in Asia

[4] Despite being the first area of the world hit by the outbreak, the early wide-scale response of some Asian states, particularly Bhutan,[5] Singapore,[6] Taiwan,[7] and Vietnam[8] has allowed them to fare comparatively well.

[84] Bangladesh on Wednesday reported the fifth death from the coronavirus though no new case of the infection came out in the last 24 hours as the country suspended all domestic flights, trains and public transport to fight the pandemic.

[88][89][90] By 10 February, after two weeks of being treated and kept under observation, he had fully recovered, Health Ministry stated on account of testing negative for the third time by Pasteur Institute of Cambodia.

The family were finally discharged and flew back to their home country on the next day as of the 80 Chinese nationals who arrived in Sihanoukville on the same flight as the patient, most had since returned to China, although the city of Wuhan remained under quarantine at that time.

[94] Sophisticated modelling of the outbreak suggests that the number of cases in mainland China would have been many times higher without interventions such as early detection, and isolation of the infected.

[109] On 29 December 2022, the U.S. joined Italy, Japan, Taiwan and India in requiring negative COVID-19 test results from all people traveling from China due to the new surge in cases.

The European Union initially refused similar measures, stating that the BF7 omicron variant had already spread throughout Europe without becoming dominant, but changed its stance following an emergency meeting of EU diplomats on 4 January 2023.

[120] 29 more are being kept in isolation in a Tbilisi hospital, with Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control, Amiran Gamkrelidze stating there was a "high probability" that some of them have the virus.

Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze made the announcement at the recent news briefing following today.

Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze said at a news briefing the following day that there is still no reason to panic.

[137] A second wave beginning in March 2021 was much more devastating than the first, with shortages of vaccines, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and other medical supplies in parts of the country.

[160][161] On 25 February, Iran's Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi tested positive for COVID-19, having shown some signs of infection during the press conference.

[194] In March 2020, several Southeast Asian countries experienced a significant rise in cases following an event held by Tablighi Jamaat at Jamek Mosque in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, where many people are believed to have been infected.

More than 620 people, including those from other countries, who attended the event have tested positive, making it the largest-known centre of transmission in South East Asia.

[195][196] In response to the rapid spread of cases, the Government introduced Movement Control Order lockdown restrictions on 18 March 2020, which helped to lower the infection and death rates.

[197] The number of active cases peaked in April and slowly declined, leading to a relaxation of Movement Control Order lockdown restrictions over the next several months.

[201] A Sin Chew Daily editorial has attributed the rapid surge of cases to the failure of the public, businesses and their employees including migrant workers to practise health and social distancing procedures during the relaxation of Movement Control Order restrictions throughout 2020.

[203] In late February 2021, the Malaysian government launched a twelve-month immunization program, with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin being the first individual to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

[214] Myanmar reported its first coronavirus death on 31 March, a 69-year-old man who also had cancer and died in a hospital in the commercial capital of Yangon, a government spokeswoman said.

[b] On February 1, 2020, a posthumous test result from a 44-year-old Chinese man turned out positive for the virus, making the Philippines the first country outside China to record a confirmed death from the disease.

[c][247] On March 24, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, a law that granted him additional powers to handle the pandemic.

[citation needed] On 27 February, Saudi Arabia announced temporary suspension of entry for individuals wanting to perform Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca or to visit the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, as well as tourists.

[267] On 28 February, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia announced a temporary suspension of entry for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens to Mecca and Medina.

On Friday, 20 March, Saudi Arabia announced it is going to suspend all domestic flights, buses, taxis and trains for 14 days amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

[citation needed] At the virtual G20 meeting, chaired by King Salman on 25 March, collective pledges were made to inject $4.8 trillion into the global economy to counteract the social and financial impacts of the pandemic.

In late March and April, COVID-19 clusters were detected at multiple migrant worker dormitories, which soon contributed to an overwhelming proportion of new cases in the country.

To stem the tide of infections, strict circuit breaker lockdown measures were implemented from 7 April to 1 June 2020, after which restrictions have been gradually lifted as conditions permitted.

[285] The Government of Iraqi Kurdistan, in a rare collaboration with its Syrian counterpart on 2 March, ordered complete closure of Syrian–Iraqi border to halt the spread.

[303] The Turkish health system[303] has the highest number of intensive care units[305] in the world at 46.5 beds per 100,000 people (compared to 9.6 in Greece, 11.6 in France, and 12.6 in Italy).

[306][307] This low case-fatality rate has generated various explanations, including the relative rarity of nursing homes,[308] favorable demographics,[309] a long legacy of contact tracing,[310] the high number of intensive care units,[311] universal health care,[310] and a lockdown regime that led to a higher proportion of positive cases among working-age adults.