This week we examine the state of the pandemic in East Asia, which has been caught in an unprecedented COVID surge from the omicron variant. In particular, China's zero-COVID strategy has faced its stiffest challenge as lockdowns in Shanghai have stoked rare civic unrest.
In this episode, Monica Hunter-Hart speaks with Nikkei data journalist Grace Li about how COVID is hitting Asia right now, Nikkei reporters CK Tan and Pak Yiu, who give us the latest from the ground in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding, who breaks down the recent surge and what might happen next. Finally, Alice French returns with the Tokyo Dispatch focusing on the nuclear power debate within Asia just ahead of Earth Day.
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Asia Stream is hosted by Jack Stone Truitt and produced by Monica Hunter-Hart and Nikkei Asia digital editor Wajahat S. Khan.
Related to this episode:
Nikkei Asia COVID-19 Recovery Index
How virus-free Shanghai turned into China's COVID-19 epicenter, by CK Tan
Locked-down Shanghai residents scramble to find food, by CK Tan
Asia's COVID success stories become the world's worst hot spots, by Shin Watanabe, Kotaro Hosokawa and Tomoya Onishi
China scrambles as COVID exposes cracks in Hong Kong leadership, by Pak Yiu