Health

Health • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 21, 2021 • 4 min read

Covid-19 Indonesia hits 2 million virus cases as crisis deepens

By Agnes Anya/AFP • Jun 21, 2021
In Indonesia, Covid-19 cases continue to soar, with the country reaching 2 million cases on Monday June 21. Even more worrying is the strain on the healthcare system as hospitals are flooded with new patients, prompting fears that the crisis could spiral out of control

Health • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 01, 2021 • 3 min read

Covid-19 Malaysia imposes lockdown as Southeast Asia battles virus surge

By M. Jegathesan/AFP • Jun 01, 2021
As countries across Southeast Asia struggle with a resurgence in Covid-19 cases driven by infectious variants, Malaysia, among the worst hit, imposed a nationwide lockdown on Tuesday June 1

Health • Jun 01, 2021 • 5 min read
Analysis

Malaysia’s federal and state government vaccine drives: Too many cooks?

Due to the federal government’s slow vaccination rate in Malaysia, some state governments have stepped into the breach to inoculate their populations. Their collective experience thus far has been somewhat patchy
By Francis E. Hutchinson • Jun 01, 2021

Health • May 31, 2021 • 3 min read
Covid-19

Vietnam to suspend incoming international flights to Hanoi over Covid

The international airport of Vietnam's capital will suspend inbound flights from abroad beginning on June 1, the country's aviation body announced, as it grapples with a fresh wave of coronavirus outbreaks
By Agence France-Presse • May 31, 2021

Health • May 25, 2021 • 12 min read
Myanmar coup

‘The presumption is we have Covid running rampant’

Myanmar’s February 1 coup not only overturned a fragile political order, it also risked worsening a precarious public health situation in a country battling to contain Covid-19. Today, the situation remains desperately unclear for health professionals in and out the country
By Andrew Haffner • May 25, 2021

Health • May 14, 2021 • 10 min read
Population decline

Offering cash gifts, why is Vietnam urging women to marry and bear children?

With a fast ageing population, the Vietnamese government is placing the country's economic future on women as it urges them to marry by 30 and bear two children by 35 – a move which women's rights activists have condemned as reinforcing outdated gender roles
By Govi Snell • May 14, 2021

Health • May 07, 2021 • 15 min read
Covid-19

As virus cases explode, why has the Mekong region success story ended?

The Mekong region countries were until recently heralded as exceptional cases in controlling the spread of Covid-19. But recent weeks have seen cases explode across Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, leaving Vietnam on high alert and observers asking what's gone so wrong
By Alastair McCready, Wanpen Pajai and Govi Snell • May 07, 2021

Health • Apr 26, 2021 • 10 min read
Covid-19

‘The poor won’t survive’: Lockdown hits Phnom Penh’s hand-to-mouth workers

Cambodia had avoided the worst health effects of the pandemic until recent months. Now, with Phnom Penh under an ever-stricter lockdown as cases spiral, it's the capital's thousands of informal, hand-to-mouth workers who are suffering as they are locked inside
By Andrew Haffner and and Borin Sopheavuthtey • Apr 26, 2021

Health • Apr 26, 2021 • 3 min read
Covid-19

New Covid restrictions in Thailand as cases rise

New Covid restrictions came into force in Thailand on April 26 in an attempt to halt a spiralling outbreak that saw deaths hit a record single-day high over the weekend
By Agence France-Presse • Apr 26, 2021