The COVID-19 pandemic, which began spreading in a seafood and poultry market in Wuhan, China, shone a spotlight on zoonotic diseases and the risks that markets selling wild meat can pose to human health. Following the outbreak, some countries like China temporarily closed down wet markets, while others like Vietnam banned the wildlife trade outright. A WWF survey found that the overall consumption of wildlife dropped by 30% in Southeast Asia and the U.S.

On the surface, the pandemic may seem to have deterred people from consumption and trade of wildlife due to restrictions and awareness about zoonoses. However, a new study published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice reveals a more complex picture. The study, part of a bigger livelihood survey of hunting communities in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, interviewed hunters living near protected areas to understand how COVID-19 has impacted their livelihoods. The survey found that the wildlife trade declined during the pandemic, but hunting and forest visits in protected areas increased to make up for lost jobs and to supplement income.

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Pacific Rim leaders were striving to find common ground on the war in Ukraine and other dire threats to humankind in an annual meeting that began Friday at a heavily guarded venue in Thailand’s capital.

The annual summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is the last of three back-to-back meetings of world leaders in the region.

On Thursday, foreign and commerce ministers were completing their yearlong effort to form a consensus on an array of often-divisive issues.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he saw signs of a “convergence” in views about how to move forward in solving the world’s problems.

Whether that might enable Thailand as host of the meetings to produce a final joint statement remained to be seen: consensus generally is required among the 21 APEC members, including Russia. None of the earlier APEC preparatory meetings this year issued statements due to disagreements over whether to mention the conflict.

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About 66,000 people in Southeast Asia are infected each year with SARS-related coronaviruses, and nearly 500 million people live near habitats where bat hosts of those viruses are found, according to a new study.

The research, published by Nature Communications on Wednesday, said viral transmission from bats to humans may have been “substantially underestimated”, adding that its mapping of bat species in the region could aid efforts to determine the origins of COVID-19.

The researchers focused on 26 species of bat known to host SARS-like coronaviruses in a region of 5.1 million square kilometres (2 million square miles), stretching from China to Southeast and South Asia.

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For the last couple of years, virtually every news feed or broadcast has included images of mask-clad people or health workers suited up as protection from COVID-19. 

While the images might be ephemeral, those masks and personal protective equipment (PPE), along with used test kits and discarded vaccine syringes, are very real. 

They eventually have to be disposed of and that is causing a problem across Asia, contributing substantially to the cost that the COVID-19 crisis has already generated.

A recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 87,000 tonnes of PPE were delivered by the United Nations globally between March 2020 and November 2021. Concerns are that the vast majority of the mainly plastic-based outfits and protective supplies will end up as waste.

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According to Thant Myanmar, the consumption of plastic has doubled during the Covid-19 pandemic in Myanmar.

Ma The Su Aye, manager of Thant Myanmar’s Rural Waste Management, told DMG that the increase was due to the increasing use of plastics, which are currently being used during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the ease of transport and packaging.

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Thailand’s main Covid-19 task force will meet later this week to review the suspension of its quarantine-free entry program for vaccinated visitors amid an uptick in new omicron cases among foreign tourists.

The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, headed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, will meet on Friday to review the visa rules, according to Traisuree Taisaranakul, a government spokeswoman. The nation’s health ministry has already recommended extending the suspension of the so-called Test & Go program for vaccinated travelers from more than 60 countries to Jan. 31.

The initial ban announced on Dec. 21 was for 14 days, or until further announcement, according to a Royal Gazette notification.  

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Urban poverty is on course to triple in Myanmar, pushing nearly half the population below the poverty line next year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as the twin impact of the pandemic and a military coup threaten progress made in the past decade.

The army seized power from the elected civilian government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, unleashing political and economic turmoil as it sought to crush opposition and hurting efforts to fight the coronavirus.

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It is hard to imagine, but Pattaya’s near-deserted “Walking Street” used to teem with revellers, as pulsating music filled the air and neon lights flashed until the early hours.

Before the pandemic, the coastal city south-east of Bangkok was a buzzing party scene, and was once described by the Lonely Planet travel guidebook as “an eye-popping sensory explosion”.

Today, bar stools sit atop dusty tables, the odd light bulb flickers and “For Rent” signs hang on bars, nightclubs and restaurants up and down the infamous red light district.

Crowds of tourists from all over the world have vanished – the only people around are a few locals heading home before the COVID-19 curfew kicks in.

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Thailand plans to reopen its borders to workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, a government official said on Tuesday (Nov 9), in a bid to ease a labour shortage that is hurting its export and tourism-dependent economy.

Pairote Chotikasathien, from the Ministry of Labor, said the rules relating to vaccination status for the migrant workers, quarantine procedures and COVID-19 testing will be decided on Wednesday.

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