Asia Sees Rise in COVID-19 Cases after Lunar New Year
2022-02-08
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1Many Asian nations have reported a rise in COVID-19 infections following the Lunar New Year holiday.
2Lunar New Year was widely celebrated in China and other parts of Asia beginning February 1.
3The celebrations came as many countries kept pandemic restrictions in place in hopes of preventing virus spread.
4The rules included limits on the size of public and family gatherings.
5In Hong Kong, officials reported a record rise in COVID-19 cases, with 614 local infections identified.
6Hong Kong has established a "zero-COVID" policy that aims to quickly stop new outbreaks before they have time to spread widely.
7The policy calls for lockdowns at housing buildings that experience a large number of infections.
8Hong Kong has also banned restaurants from operating after 6:00 at night.
9Edwin Tsui is with Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection.
10He told reporters on Monday that officials expect to see more cases in the coming days.
11"With our current containment measures, we hope we can still contain the disease," Tsui said.
12Singapore has reported a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections after last week's holiday.
13Officials there said new cases reached 13,000 on Friday.
14The city-state has reported more than 100,000 cases over the past month.
15But officials say about 99 percent of cases are considered light.
16Many of those infected have shown no signs of sickness.
17Other Asian nations have seen similar increases in case numbers as the Omicron version of COVID-19 has become dominant.
18Officials in several countries report that Omicron has a much lower rate of hospitalizations and deaths than the earlier Delta version of the virus.
19In Japan, nearly 90,000 new cases nationwide were reported on Sunday.
20This included 17,526 in Tokyo.
21Experts say the infections are now spreading to older people who are beginning to fill more hospital beds.
22In Indonesia, case levels were close to the height of last year's Delta version outbreak.
23On January 6, Indonesia recorded 533 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths.
24On Sunday, the daily number was 36,057.
25Daily deaths rose to 57, nearly four times the rate one week ago.
26In Thailand, officials reported more than 10,000 daily cases Monday for the third day straight.
27But the Department of Disease Control said the number of severely sick patients was dropping and the death rate had stayed about the same.
28In South Korea, officials reported 38,691 new cases of the virus.
29Health experts warned the country may see daily increases of 130,000 or 170,000 by late February.
30In Vietnam, officials had warned that infections may rise after the popular New Year holiday.
31Over the past month, Vietnam has reported just 192 cases of Omicron, with most of those showing few or no signs of sickness.
32The Philippines has moved to ease COVID-19 restrictions and open its doors to foreign visitors.
33Officials reported Sunday that case numbers eased to about 8,300 on Sunday.
34That was down from a high of 39,000 in mid-January.
35In mainland China, new local infections continue to move up and down.
36Cases fell as low as nine on Friday but rose again to 45 on Monday.
37The majority of the new cases are in the southern area of Guangxi.
38China ordered severe restrictions and mass testing ahead of the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which began last Friday.
39I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Many Asian nations have reported a rise in COVID-19 infections following the Lunar New Year holiday. Lunar New Year was widely celebrated in China and other parts of Asia beginning February 1. 2The celebrations came as many countries kept pandemic restrictions in place in hopes of preventing virus spread. The rules included limits on the size of public and family gatherings. 3In Hong Kong, officials reported a record rise in COVID-19 cases, with 614 local infections identified. 4Hong Kong has established a "zero-COVID" policy that aims to quickly stop new outbreaks before they have time to spread widely. The policy calls for lockdowns at housing buildings that experience a large number of infections. Hong Kong has also banned restaurants from operating after 6:00 at night. 5Edwin Tsui is with Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection. He told reporters on Monday that officials expect to see more cases in the coming days. "With our current containment measures, we hope we can still contain the disease," Tsui said. 6Singapore has reported a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections after last week's holiday. Officials there said new cases reached 13,000 on Friday. The city-state has reported more than 100,000 cases over the past month. But officials say about 99 percent of cases are considered light. Many of those infected have shown no signs of sickness. 7Other Asian nations have seen similar increases in case numbers as the Omicron version of COVID-19 has become dominant. Officials in several countries report that Omicron has a much lower rate of hospitalizations and deaths than the earlier Delta version of the virus. 8In Japan, nearly 90,000 new cases nationwide were reported on Sunday. This included 17,526 in Tokyo. Experts say the infections are now spreading to older people who are beginning to fill more hospital beds. 9In Indonesia, case levels were close to the height of last year's Delta version outbreak. On January 6, Indonesia recorded 533 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths. On Sunday, the daily number was 36,057. Daily deaths rose to 57, nearly four times the rate one week ago. 10In Thailand, officials reported more than 10,000 daily cases Monday for the third day straight. But the Department of Disease Control said the number of severely sick patients was dropping and the death rate had stayed about the same. 11In South Korea, officials reported 38,691 new cases of the virus. Health experts warned the country may see daily increases of 130,000 or 170,000 by late February. 12In Vietnam, officials had warned that infections may rise after the popular New Year holiday. Over the past month, Vietnam has reported just 192 cases of Omicron, with most of those showing few or no signs of sickness. 13The Philippines has moved to ease COVID-19 restrictions and open its doors to foreign visitors. Officials reported Sunday that case numbers eased to about 8,300 on Sunday. That was down from a high of 39,000 in mid-January. 14In mainland China, new local infections continue to move up and down. Cases fell as low as nine on Friday but rose again to 45 on Monday. The majority of the new cases are in the southern area of Guangxi. 15China ordered severe restrictions and mass testing ahead of the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which began last Friday. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19_____________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21outbreak - n. a sudden start or increase in disease 22lockdown - n. an emergency in which people are not permitted to freely move about an area because of danger 23dominant - adj. the main or most important part of something