Asia’s Power & Water Recovery at Risk Due to Delta Variant
Across Asia, countries are wrestling with the pandemic’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, worsened by poor vaccination rates and the extremely contagious Delta variant strain. While China, Japan, and South Korea are seeing increasing outbreaks, Southeast Asia is feeling the full force of the Delta wave, with countries reporting fast increases in case numbers and deaths.
Southeast Asian nations that successfully contained epidemics last year now face overburdened health systems, a shortage of hospital beds, equipment, and oxygen. Additionally, they have reinstated lockdowns, shuttering factories in critical manufacturing centers and restricting the mobility of individuals already in financial distress.
While wealthy nations such as Singapore continue to suffer outbreaks, they have fully vaccinated over half of their people. In comparison, according to Our World in Data, Vietnam has only fully vaccinated less than 1% of its population, Thailand approximately 5%, the Philippines 7.2%, and viral hotspot Indonesia 7.6%.
Although manufacturing activity is permitted in Thailand, a state-mandated temporary suspension of a plant may be triggered by an outbreak. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and other cities continue to struggle with economic limitations. There are measures in place that restrict the number of industries that may continue operations and the amount of workers who can work on-site.
In Indonesia, travel restrictions on the Java and Bali islands have been extended. Outbreaks have swamped the country’s hospitals. Expatriates and their families are returning to their home countries in increasing numbers.
In Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been issued stay-at-home orders, causing havoc in the businesses. In the Philippines, a lockdown impacting the greater Manila area went into force last August 6, activating the most restrictive level of the country’s four-tiered alert system and tightening mobility limitations throughout the city. All these limitations are having an influence on electric power and water utility sales.
By any measure, international corporations operating in the region are confronted with significantly reduced commercial activity. Numerous businesses are responding to the restrictions by focusing on maintaining the flow of supply chains. Accordingly, firms become increasingly interested with business continuity plans again.
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