Buddhist monks wait to receive Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines at Priest hospital in Bangkok, Thailand Tuesday, May 18 , 2021. Thailand had about 7,100 cases, including 63 deaths, in all of last year, in what was regarded as a success story. Taxi drivers are starved for customers, weddings are suddenly canceled, schools are closed, and restaurant service is restricted across much of Asia as the coronavirus makes a resurgence in countries where it had seemed to be well under control. (AP Photo/Anuthep Cheysakron)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taxi drivers are starved for customers, weddings are suddenly canceled, schools are closed, and restaurant service is restricted across much of Asia as the coronavirus makes a resurgence in countries where it had seemed to be well under control.
Sparsely populated Mongolia has seen its death toll soar from 15 to 239, while Taiwan, considered a major success in battling the virus, has recorded more than 1,200 cases since last week and placed over 600,000 people in two-week medical isolation.
Hong Kong and Singapore have postponed a quarantine-free travel bubble for a second time after an outbreak in Singapore of uncertain origin. China, which has all but stamped out local infections, has seen new cases apparently linked to contact with people arriving from abroad.
The resurgence hasn’t come close to the carnage wrought in India and parts of Europe, but it is a keen reminder that the virus remains resilient, despite mask mandates, case tracing, mass testing and wider deployment of the newest weapon against it — vaccinations.
That’s setting back efforts to get social and economic life back to normal, particularly in schools and sectors like the hospitality industry that are built on public contact.
In Taiwan, the surge is being driven by the more easily transmissible variant first identified in Britain, according to Chen Chien-jen, an epidemiologist and the island’s former vice president, who led the highly praised pandemic response last year.
Complicating matters are some senior citizens who frequent slightly racy “tea salons” in Taipei’s Wanhua neighborhood. They accounted for about 375 of the new cases as of Tuesday, Chen said. The tea shops are known for providing adult entertainment with singing and dancing.
“These seniors, when they go to these places, want to keep it veiled,” Chen said. “When we are conducting the investigation, they may not be honest.”
In Wanhua, normally a bustling area with food stalls, shops and entertainment venues, the Huaxi night market and historic Longshan Buddhist temple are closed.
Kao Yu-chieh, who runs a breakfast shop in the area, said business is down at least 50% since last week.
Cab driver Wang Hsian Jhong said he hasn’t had a customer in three days. “Everyone is affected. This is a Taiwan-wide problem. We have to get through it,” he said, puffing on a cigarette on a street in Wanhua.
The island has shut all schools and restrictions previously only in the Taipei area were expanded island-wide Wednesday: Restaurants, gyms and other public venues were closed, and gatherings of more than five people indoors and more than 10 people outdoors are banned.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has sought to reassure a public that is reverting to panic-buying and shunning public places.
“We will continue to strengthen our medical capacity,” Tsai said, adding that vaccines are arriving from abroad.
Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
