Nikkei’s Covid Recovery Index and Malaysia’s Standing

Some countries and regions in Asia have seen their rankings on Nikkei's COVID-19 Recovery Index change significantly over early July. Taiwan had the biggest jump of 17 places with the island on track to overcome its latest outbreak.

Taiwan is now in the 66th spot, according to index results as of July 7, compared to 83rd place in the previous week, thanks to falling case numbers and accelerated vaccine rollouts.

On the other end of the spectrum, Laos was the biggest loser on the index.  It fell 28 places to the 94th, due to imported cases spiking, primarily because migrant workers were returning home from Thailand.

Singapore rose to fifth from 12th to be on par with Italy, Hungary and Qatar. Hong Kong also went up six places to 14th.

Japan, Australia and Cambodia all slipped five spots. Japan's government is set to declare a state of emergency for the Tokyo area through Aug. 22, which has resulted in the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee banning all spectators at venues in the capital and three surrounding prefectures.

South Korea and the U.K., both of which ranked 48th previously, slid to 51st and 55th, respectively. South Korea will impose its strictest social distancing rules in greater Seoul for two weeks as daily cases hit a record high of 1,316.

Several Southeast Asian countries were at the bottom of the index. Vietnam is down 14 places to 114th. The former COVID haven now wants Ho Chi Minh City and nearby provinces to take more aggressive measures. It has also set a target to vaccinate 50% of people aged 18 or older by the end of this year and 70% by March 2022.

Indonesia remained at 110th, as daily new cases and deaths both hit record highs this week. Government officials and epidemiologists alike were quick to point to the Islamic holiday of Eid as a key factor for the recent surge. But complacency could be another factor. The country's mobility trend data from Google shows that Indonesians had been more "out and about" in the past few months compared with the same period last year.

Malaysia remains firmly rooted at 114^th with Bangladesh, Venezuela and Vietnam. Emergency and lockdowns seem not to change its dire situation. Perhaps, fresh thinking is required. And more could be done to assist the SMEs and self-employed.

Reference:

In Asia, government actions impact Nikkei Covid Recovery Index, Grace Li, July 9, 2021, https://asia.nikkei.com