252 Crore Individuals, 43,158 Deaths: Curious Case of Low Covid-19 Mortality in South & South East Asia
The area accounts for nearly one-third of the world’s population and includes four of the 10 most populated nations of the world. Contribute to that its density and financial and socio-political difficulties and yet South and South-East Asia (SSEA) has actually done an amazing task in containing Covid-19 deaths.
The 19 countries of the area, with a population of over 252 crore, have reported simply 43,158 Covid-19 casualties.
Compare this with the 1,94,889 deaths reported from the 19 worst-hit European nations, with an overall population of around 66.5 crore.
In effect, this means that SSEA with close to 4 times the population of these 19 European nations, represent hardly a little over one-fifth (2214%) of the corresponding Covid-19 deaths.
India alone accounts for 64 per cent of the overall number of deceased in SSEA. This means the remaining 18 countries in the area together account for just 15,655 Covid-19 deaths.
Thailand, with a population of almost 7 crore, has actually recorded just 58 Covid-19 deaths. Sri Lanka has done a fantastic containment task with simply 11 reported deaths. Countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Bhutan and Laos are amongst the couple of nations on the planet without any casualties.
In sharp contrast, the death numbers in UK, Italy and France are in excess of 30,000 Spain is not far behind.
In regards to Deaths Per 1 Million Population, which is a more accurate step of the spread of the infection in a country, there is a colossal distinction between the 2 regions. While SSEA has actually tape-recorded simply 17 deaths per 1 million, the matching number is more than 17 times for the European area under analysis.
Afghanistan, which is the worst in SSEA on this count, has actually reported 30 deaths per one million population. The corresponding number for India is 20, Bangladesh– 16, Indonesia– 15, Singapore– 5 and Malaysia– 4. For Thailand, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, the ratio is less than 1– that is how effective they have remained in managing the number of deceased due to Covid-19
On the other end of the spectrum, Belgium has recorded 845 deaths per 1 million population, UK– 667, Spain– 608, Italy– 580, Sweden– 556, France– 462 and Germany–109 Ukraine, with 34 deaths per one million population, has comparatively fared the very best among the considered European countries.
So, in a nutshell, the worst SSEA country has a lower death-population ratio than the very best European country on this count.
Overall, SSEA’s Death Rate (MR) is more than 3 times lower than Europe.
Indonesia, with 4.79 percent, has the highest MR in SSEA. Afghanistan has an MR of 3.33 percent and is followed by Philippines– 2.71 per cent, India– 2.46 percent and Pakistan– 2.11 percent.
Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Bangladesh all have an MR of in between 1 and 2 while Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Singapore have an MR of less than 1.
Contrasts with the worst– affected European countries provide surprising results. Countries like France, UK, Belgium and Italy have an MR of in excess of 14!
Even in terms of Tests Per Death, the Asian area has carried out substantially better. Singapore has carried out more than 37,000 tests per death. The matching number for Myanmar is 17,083, Sri Lanka– 12,491, Thailand– 10,408, Malaysia– 7,234, Philippines– 624, India– 511, Pakistan– 311 and Indonesia– 295.
The East European countries have usually carried out much better than the more developed Western powers on this specification– Belarus has carried out 2,391 tests per death, Russia– 2046, Poland– 1,193 and Serbia– 1,165
In contrast, the corresponding ratio for UK is 293, Spain– 212, Italy– 178, Belgium– 147 and France– 87.
There are many possible reasons being attributed to the low death numbers in South and South East Asia.
Among the most plausible is the typical age of population. India has an extremely high portion of the young (53 percent below 30 years of age) and an extremely low portion of the above-65 population (6 per cent). The median-age of India is just27 Most of the other countries in the region have a similar age-median– Pakistan– 23, Bangladesh– 28, Myanmar– 28, Bhutan– 28, Vietnam– 31, Indonesia– 30, Philippines– 26 and Sri Lanka– 34.
In contrast, Italy has a age-median of 46, France– 42, UK– 40, Belgium– 42 and Spain–45 Italy, Spain, France, UK, Germany, Sweden and Belgium all have around a fifth of their population above 65.
Another common element between the nations of South and South-East Asia is their geographical location: many lie between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator with a hot and humid tropical weather condition which recommends a connection in between temperature and mortality. It can not just be a coincidence that some of the worst Covid-19 mortality rates are prevalent in countries with a chillier climate who were hit by the infection in winter season.
Other local elements might have played a part too. In India, an early and stringent lockdown, a big percentage of the rural population and the BCG vaccine are a few of the other possible factors that a nation of 138 crore has such low mortality numbers.
Thailand has been a remarkable story. The nation saw a large number of travelers at the beginning of the year from some of the worst-hit Covid-19 nations in Europe and yet managed to keep the mortality numbers to listed below 60! One of the biggest factors for this is being attributed to the social distancing rooted in Thai culture and their ‘non-physical contact’ way of greeting each other. This culture likewise prevails in the larger Mekong river region and might partly be accountable for the low death figures in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
Paired with this were aspects like a predominantly outside way of life, early implementation of face masks and a great healthcare system which assisted Thailand to contain the number of deceased.
Sri Lanka has likewise done a remarkable task in controlling the spread of the virus. Definitive planning and preparations and an efficient lockdown, early diagnosis, and precise contact-tracing were some of the actions that assisted the island country to control the pandemic. It likewise helped that the country has just one global airport.
In spite of sharing a 1300- km long border with China, Vietnam has actually reported simply 383 cases and amazingly, no Covid-19 related deaths! Early detection and contact tracing and the experience of handling SARS in 2003 contributed in the country’s success against the pandemic.
The precise reasons will only be understood with more information and analysis and as the world learns more about the infection.
However whatever they may be, it is nearly a miracle that an area with such high levels of population, hardship and other obstacles, has managed to efficiently prevent deaths when a few of the most advanced, rich and developed countries have actually stopped working.
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