Prime Sarmiento

Pandemic shows resilience of East and Southeast Asia and leaders’ decisiveness.

The COVID-19 pandemic has finally given millions of healthcare workers the attention they deserve.

Aashreena Inderjit, 35, who says she always wanted to be a doctor, is aware of the sacrifices and hard work that come with her work in the state of Kelantan in northeastern Malaysia. Ten years after graduating from medical school she is taking care of pregnant women amid a global pandemic.

Governments in the Asia-Pacific region are exploring the creation of "travel bubbles" to spur essential business travel and help revive economies hit hard by COVID-19.

The arrival of annual Eid al-Fitr after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan signaled the need for most Southeast Asian governments to impose stringent movement control measures to prevent another wave of COVID-19 infections, analysts said.

COVID-19 has forced most Southeast Asian governments to lock down their countries to stem the rise of infections. But measures meant to ensure public health safety have also led to disruptions in food supply.

Filipina entrepreneur Pacita Juan is relieved that she and her partners had the foresight to develop an e-commerce site for their organic-products retail chain. The founder and chairwoman of ECHOstore said the online shop keeps her business afloat at a time when the novel coronavirus outbreak has pushed the government to lock down the capital region of metropolitan Manila. But the higher online sales cannot compensate for the losses the company has incurred from the shutdown of all its physica

Trina Alejandra Firmalo-Fabic, a town mayor in the Philippines, was surprised when President Rodrigo Duterte announced on March 16 that he would lock down the entire island of Luzon. The one-month lockdown aims to stem the rising cases of COVID-19 infection in the Southeast Asian country.

Southeast Asian countries are intensifying their efforts to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, as confirmed cases surge and community transmission becomes more prevalent.

Finance manager Shiela Briol began stocking up on face masks, disposable wipes and bottles of isopropyl alcohol in late January, spooked by news of the Philippines' first case of the novel coronavirus.

The novel coronavirus outbreak has disrupted work schedules across Asia. To reduce the risk of contracting COVID-1 9, many people work from home; others have had to cut working hours as the outbreak has slowed business.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has tested and shown the resilience of Singapore’s public healthcare system, a senior World Health Organization official said.

Much of Southeast Asia is once again stepping up control efforts against the coronavirus in the face of rising numbers of infections－even in those countries that had won praise for getting on top of the outbreak.

Several countries to gradually relax measures within the next few weeks.