Happy New Year.

We had hoped that the holiday season would be quiet.  Instead, we were kept busy updating several changes to our blog, which are now also contained in this report.

There have been several changes to border and arrival protocols due to the COVID-19 variants recently discovered in the UK and South Africa. Philippines has banned arrivals from several countries through 15 January.  Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Korea have also banned the arrival of many foreign nationals while Hong Kong and Macau increased quarantine requirements to 21 days.

Rising cases in some Asian countries have also prompted enhancement or extension of local preventative measures.  China has restricted locally the area of Hebei Province.  Thailand has upgraded several provinces, including Bangkok to “red zones” and Australia is implementing more restrictions due to rising cases in NSW.

But there is some good news already in 2021.  The NYTimes reports that 3 vaccines have been approved for full use and 7 more approved for early or limited use.  A light is appearing at the end of the tunnel, but we anticipate a continued changing landscape and a few more bumps  along the way.

You can download a copy of this report here.