China grows more isolated as South Korea, Japan, Thailand start living with Covid-19

[ad_1]

On Tuesday, the northwestern city of Lanzhou, with a population of more than 4 million people, went into lockdown after just six Covid-19 cases were reported there.

And this approach seems set to stay, at least for now. Even though some Chinese health officials have suggested a tentative or partial relaxation once vaccination rates hit 85%, analysts say most restrictions are unlikely to ease within the next 12-months.

In China’s Asia Pacific neighbors, however, things couldn’t be more different.

From Monday, South Korea will begin to live with the virus despite thousands of new confirmed cases every week. New measures will allow up to 10 people to meet in private gatherings across the country, while most businesses will be permitted to fully reopen as curfews end.

And in Japan’s capital Tokyo, curfews were lifted for bars and restaurants at the end of last month, despite hundreds of new cases across the country every day.

And it’s not just domestic restrictions that are lifting around the region.

While both Japan and South Korea continue to maintain strict border controls, including quarantines for most international arrivals, from Monday Thailand will welcome visitors from 45 countries, as long as they can prove they are fully vaccinated and have tested negative for Covid-19.

And on Monday, Australia also begins to partially reopen its borders to citizens who are fully vaccinated, ending a strict border regime that has separated families for almost two years.

Much of this is thanks to generally high vaccination rates across Asia Pacific. Despite a slow start to their rollouts, countries including Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore are now among the most vaccinated in the world per capita.