Top officials in Southeast Asia have played down the threat of the virus and shied away from travel bans. Some have even pushed supposed remedies not supported by science.
The World Health Organization has declared the epidemic, which appears to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, a (global health emergency) . But the message does not seem to be resonating in some parts of Southeast Asia, a magnet for Chinese tourists and workers.
Medical experts worry that a delayed response could hasten the spread of the disease.
“Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director general. On Sunday, the first overseas death from the virus, of a – year-old Wuhan resident who had died a day earlier, was reported in the Philippines. The virus has spread to about two dozen countries. hours before the death was announced , President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines ordered a temporary entry ban on most travelers who had recently been in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Earlier in the week, Mr. Duterte, who has brought the Philippines closer to China while distancing it from the United States, said there was no reason to bar visitors from mainland China, bringing a barrage of criticism from local medical experts.
“Is there any Cambodian or foreigner in Cambodia who has died of the disease?” The prime minister asked. “The real disease happening in Cambodia right now is the disease of fear. It is not the coronavirus that occurs in China’s Wuhan city. ”
Indonesia, where direct flights from Wuhan brought tourists to the holiday island of Bali, has not confirmed any cases of coronavirus, leading to concerns about lax monitoring of incoming passengers. The virus has been found in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, three much less populous countries around Indonesia. Laos, a secretive socialist nation on the border with China, has also not confirmed any cases, even though a large number of Chinese tourists and workers cycle through the country.
On Saturday, residents of the remote Natuna islands in Indonesia, on the southern shores of the South China Sea, gathered by the hundreds to protest a decision to quarantine about 728 Indonesians airlifted there from Wuhan.
“People are upset,” said Andes Putra, the head of Natuna’s Parliament, noting that local officials had been given scant information about the virus.
“Don’t fret,” he said. “Just enjoy and eat enough.”
In Thailand, where normally bustling airports have been emptied of holidaymakers and tourism officials say that arrivals from China could drop by 96 percent in the first four months of this year, Anutin Charnvirakul, the public health minister, recommended temporarily revoking the country’s visa-on-arrival program for mainland Chinese travelers. But more than 288, 06 Chinese tourists who had entered Thailand over the past two months remain in the country, according to immigration officials. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha of Thailand called for Mr. Anutin to check in with tourism officials before submitting a formal proposal to the cabinet, a process that could take days.
Reporting was contributed by Muktita Suhartono from Jakarta, Indonesia, Jason Gutierrez from Manila, Sun Narin from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Saw Nang from Mandalay, Myanmar.
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