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Governments across the world have responded to the Covid Crisis with varying degrees of lockdowns from extreme restrictions in New Zealand to minimal limitations in Sweden.
The people of Hong Kong have voluntarily embraced the use of cloth masks, and infections are much lower than in most major cities around the world. Yet, most Covid hot spots have eschewed masks (ignoring CDC recommendations) and many continue to register far more infections than Hong Kong.
As public pressure builds on governments to reduce or withdraw the lockdowns altogether, we have, as expected, seen infections spike because it is extremely difficult to eliminate a virus without a vaccine, or without testing every single person and quarantining the positives.
Even if a country could achieve elimination, they would need to close their borders until the virus was eradicated globally. Hokkaido attempted to unlock but when infections spiked, they quickly reverted to an extreme lockdown.
As a vaccine is unlikely anytime soon, we can expect lockdowns to continue indefinitely.
In an ongoing series, AsiaXPAT will document the economic impact of the global Covid lockdowns. From collapsing businesses to massive job losses, spiralling suicide rates and soaring hunger around the world, we will gather stories and keep you informed on a daily basis.