Which Asian countries are seeing rise in COVID cases due to Delta variant?

Some Asian countries are currently are witnessing a rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant. This is putting extra pressure on the health infrastructure of those countries, which were already split open by the first and second waves of the COVID.

Vaccinations rates have been low in many Asian countries and are creating a panic that the virus will continue to spread.

But how did the numbers increase?

This comes as the Delta variant of the COVID-19 is wreaking havoc, which was first identified in India and now is present in countries across the region. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently described the Delta variant as the “most transmissible of the variants identified so far”.

In particular, Nepal was badly hit as it saw a dramatic surge in infections crippling the local health infrastructure. Afghanistan saw an all-time high in June and the country’s health minister, Wajid Majrooh, said that 60% of cases in the capital, Kabul, were due to the Delta variant.

The World health body reported rising case numbers in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand. Here is a list of countries reeling under the Delta variant.

Indonesia

After imposing a lockdown in certain parts of the countries, Indonesia is looking to extend the lockdown period after a steep rise in cases. Case numbers and deaths have been rising since early June and the government blamed it on the Delta variant. The new variant was detected in 94% of the test sequence in Indonesia in the past two weeks, BBC reported.

Bangladesh

The country which has a long border with India experienced a rise in cases from mid-May.

The Delta variant was detected in 92% of the tests sequenced in the country up to June 28, according to OWID, BBC reported.

Amid rising cases, the lockdown was lifted ahead of the Eid ul Adha celebration. The government, however, said it will reimpose the lockdown. Less than 3% of the population of Bangladesh had been fully vaccinated by 13 July.

Thailand

The Delta variant is now present in 71 of the 77 provinces in Thailand. 62.6% of the total 3,300 cases sequenced were the Delta variant according to official figures. Thailand announced a lockdown in Bangkok and other high-risk regions, BBC reported. According to figures, around 5% of the total population were vaccinated by June-end.

Other Asian countries

Pakistan is experiencing 92% of positive tests show the presence of Delta variant in them. Just 2% of the population has been vaccinated.

In Mongolia, cases were falling since early July following a severe wave.  It has reached more than 50% of vaccination of its total population.