Now, they are among many places across Asia-Pacific battling unprecedented cases. While the increase in cases can be partly explained by the highly contagious Omicron variant that permeates the region’s defenses, that is not the whole story. In some places, the rising number of cases is a symptom of cohabitation with Covid, as governments acknowledge that trying to eradicate the virus is an unrealistic pursuit. Elsewhere, skyrocketing cases are attributed to a lack of planning by unexpectedly caught authorities, despite a two-year warning.

The highest peak in Asia

Many of the places that report the most cases per capita in the Asia-Pacific region – which stretches across East and South Asia and Oceania – were previously considered success stories. These include South Korea, New Zealand, Vietnam, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Of these, two countries that have both eased restrictions lead to the number of cases in Asia – South Korea and Vietnam. Vietnam reopened to international tourists earlier this month – even as cases rose. In South Korea, meanwhile, presidential elections earlier this month may have played a role. Woo Joo Kim, a professor of infectious diseases at Korea’s Guro University Hospital, said the government had eased restrictions in the weeks leading up to the election to address the financial losses suffered by small business owners. “(The Korean government) has eased the current measures and social distancing, although the number of Covid cases has been growing,” he said. Abhishek Rimal, regional emergency health coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said Lunar New Year, celebrated earlier this year in both countries, could also contribute to the cases. Another factor, he said, was that both Vietnam and South Korea also have great potential for testing, which could also explain why they find more cases than other countries. “They try, that’s why they get it,” he said. Countries now facing a large number of cases closed all their borders at the beginning of the pandemic, leaving them largely excluded from the world. When Covid leaked, they used tracking, tracking and social distance measures to bring the cases under control. In recent months, more and more people are turning to a new approach: living with the virus. After years of banning most foreign nationals, all parties – except Hong Kong – have eased border restrictions and eased rules for citizens. The reasons behind this vary from place to place. Singapore took the lead in June when it announced it was a break with the Covid Zero Club and devised a way to live with the virus. Other countries followed – though not all by choice. Australia and South Korea moved to a similar model only after failing to eradicate local epidemics. “We have been in a pandemic for more than two years … and people are really looking forward to returning to normal life,” Rimal said. But people in Hong Kong and China are still waiting for their lives to move on. On both sides, governments have maintained strict border rules – and people continue to live with social distance and the threat of emergency restrictions on Covid.

Vaccines are the key

Even with soaring cases, some authorities across Asia-Pacific do not seem noisy for one simple reason: vaccines. Apart from the small Pacific island countries of Tonga and the Cook Islands, New Zealand and South Korea report the highest per capita cases in the region – but their death toll remains relatively low. “Sacrifice and hard work have brought us here today, and now with more tools and one of the most vaccinated populations in the world, we can continue to move forward safely,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinta Arden said last week. “Covid came to stay.” The South Korean authorities have sent the same message. “The number of confirmed cases continues to rise significantly, but the severity and mortality rate and response of the medical system are considered manageable,” health official Son Young-rae said in a March 23 update. “(We believe that once the peak of this Omicron wave passes, we will be able to transform into a system that is closer to normal life.” Both South Korea and New Zealand have high rates of vaccination – but more importantly, they have vaccinated their elderly, who are more vulnerable to serious illness and death from the virus. And so far, this means that while these countries have seen an increase in deaths as their incidence increases, they have managed to keep mortality rates relatively low. Although funeral homes are struggling to keep up with rising Covid deaths in South Korea, the country’s mortality rate was 0.13%, lower than 0.18% in the United Kingdom, 1.2% in the United States or 0.59% of France, health official Lee Ki- said on Friday, citing statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO). The situation is similar in New Zealand – while the country had one of the highest reported cases of Covid per capita last week, when it comes to per capita deaths last week, it is not even in the top 20 in the world. Again, the extreme point of the region is Hong Kong. Hong Kong, with a population of 7.4 million, has reported more than 7,300 deaths from Covid since the end of December. The city’s per capita mortality rate is the highest in Asia and Oceania every day since February 28. In Hong Kong, 84.5% of the population aged 12 and over have been vaccinated with two vaccines, but – most importantly – only 60% of people aged 70 and over have received two doses. The virus was able to penetrate nursing homes, where vaccination rates were low. The question of whether the austerity measures are worthwhile is also playing out in mainland China, which is facing a larger outbreak than the one recorded in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic. And like in Hong Kong, vaccinations among the elderly are delayed, raising concerns that the city’s deadly outbreak could herald a deadly wave across borders.
About 40 million Chinese over the age of 60 have not yet been vaccinated, according to the China National Health Commission (NHC). Only about half of those 80 and older are fully vaccinated, the NHC said in its latest analysis on March 18. Of those over the age of 80, less than 20% have received the booster vaccine, despite the WHO saying last year that all seniors receive the Inactivated Vaccines China needed three vaccines to fully protect itself. For now, China seems to be sticking to its zero-Covid strategy – and relying heavily on lockdowns to bring its cases under control. CNN’s Yoonjung Seo and Simone McCarthy contributed to this report.