The news is both good and bad across our 17 countries. For good news, China has not seen new domestic cases of infection for a couple days now. Hokkaido Prefecture which once had the highest rate of infections in Japan, is now set to end its state of emergency and move to new, less-restrictive precautionary measures as of March 20.
Unfortunately there are countries including Cambodia who just recorded its first case and Brunei who is seeing its first cases, mostly which stem from a religious meeting that occurred in Kuala Lumpur.
While overall, the development of domestic cases inside many Asian countries is slowing, the risk of importing the virus from travelers and returning citizens is causing new levels of border restrictions and more mandatory 14 day self isolation requirements. Those are reflected in the charts updates below.
We expect to see the continuation of simultaneous phases of control mechanisms continue within Asia:
- Prevention measures against community spread in locations with high transmission rates in the form of school closures and country/area lockdowns
- Prevention measures against foreign infections including restrictions on travel and self-quarantine requirements
- Return to lower levels of protections as cases subside.as seen in Hokkaido.
Our team continues to do our best to keep everyone updated on the latest changes. In cases where there is a new situation that directly impacts an assignment, our team is working to immediately contact the managing relocation contact at our client and develop an adjusted plan. We will also continue to send regular updates via email and postings on social media outlets.
If you have any questions or concerns, please also feel free to reach out to us any time. We know clients are unique and can have individual concerns. Our teams are on the ground in all 17 of our countries and able to provide additional insights and support where needed.
