New Covid variant from India worrying Asian countries
COVID-19 rages in India, accounting for 46 percent of the world’s new cases. A new variant first discovered in India has been found to be highly infectious, resulting in the collapse of the country’s health care sector. India reported nearly 2.6 million new cases last week, according to official data. The new variant is likely to be more dangerous for other countries due to its mutating capabilities. India’s large population and growing Covid-19 cases are creating anxiety in other Asian countries and the world. The second wave in India has spread to neighboring countries. Many countries have detected the new Indian variant resulting in increased Covid-19 cases in Asian countries.
The new variant is deadly, and the outbreak continues to spread. Neighboring countries, including Nepal and Sri Lanka, have seen an increase in Covid-19 cases. South Asian countries sharing borders with India have experienced a rise in Covid infections. Pakistan has seen an average increase of 4,187 cases in the last week, Bangladesh on May 6 saw an increase of 1,822 cases with 41 new deaths, Nepal saw a daily surge of more than 7,000 new cases and Sri Lanka saw a drastic increase in one week with 1,895 new cases on May 6. India’s neighbors have limited vaccine supply and basic health care resources, which is creating a grave situation because of the new variant.
According to the World Health Organization, the double mutant known as B1617 first found in India has now been detected in 17 countries. There have been more than 14 million cases in Asia. The new variant is double mutating, causing a deadly effect. The mutations have increased transmission; they are spreading faster. India’s neighbors Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka have banned flights, with Sri Lanka sealing its borders with India.
The double mutant variant has started to affect Southeast Asian countries, many of which have closed their borders to stop the spread. The porous borders of Myanmar with India cause a greater threat to Southeast Asian countries. The outbreak will impact the island countries harshly due to limited health care resources. The presence of South Asian workers in Southeast Asia is also considered a threat to these countries’ healthcare system. The limited testing facilities in small Asian countries could create a disastrous Covid-19 situation.
The horrific situation in India with much better resources is frightening for other Asian countries. Southeast Asian countries have limited health care facilities and vaccination. They need to protect their borders and prevent entry from India and countries detecting the new variant. Thailand has reported 2,000 new cases; the country has a large number of refugees from Myanmar and very limited health care resources that cannot prevent the spread of the B1617 variant. Thai authorities have restricted travel, and many advisories have been released by the government to prevent the spread. China, on May 6, detected 18 cases of the double mutant and suspected more in the country. The rapid spread of the variant is alarming due to the requirement of intensive care, ventilators and oxygen cylinders for the patients in India.
Southeast Asian countries like Thailand have imposed travel bans, but due to the nature of the global economy, the spread of the virus cannot be prevented with travel bans from India only. With the new wave of infections, countries in Southeast Asia need the help and support of the US and China. The biggest challenge for India and other Asian countries is to stop the spread of the virus. Vaccination is a great tool in preventing the spread of the virus. China has taken up a leadership role in Asia to supply vaccines, particularly to Southeast Asian countries which have limited vaccine supply, low testing rates and high vulnerability to the new variant. The developing nations in Asia lack resources to curb the spread of the new variant.