THREE DISTINCT YEARS: 2020, 2021, 2022

Covid-19 shook the globe at the dawn of a new decade. The scale and speed of viral transmission, and the concurrent health and economic crises resulting from border closures and mobility restrictions, posed unprecedented policy and political challenges. Southeast Asia shared the global experience of Covid-19, with distinct national and regional features.

At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, the world gravitated towards “flattening the curve” by minimizing human contact, which shut down economies except for essential services. As the year progressed and countries experienced waves of Covid-19 infection, mobility restrictions and border closures were maintained in much of Southeast Asia. Governments extended economic relief and stimulus to protect jobs, mitigate income losses and keep businesses afloat. Governments also grappled with the challenges of coordinating security, health and economic policies, creating and managing mobile applications for recording movement and tracing the contacts of infected persons, and communicating information between agencies and to the public. The region performed relatively well in containing Covid-19 infection, but almost all economies significantly contracted. The adverse consequences were mitigated for some segments, especially those able to shift to online work and formal entities supported by public assistance, but swathes of society experienced great socio-economic hardship.

The storyline of 2021 was markedly different. The more transmissible Delta variant surged across the region but, having gained experience, including in contact tracing applications and public communication channels, governments shifted towards more localized mobility restrictions and adopted mechanisms for gauging the severity of the pandemic and applying commensurate measures for physical distancing. Countries stumbled along the way, with some incapacitated by political instability and others undermined by vested interests. Cross-border travel remained tightly controlled, with quarantine protocols widely in place. As vaccines were approved, procurement and mass roll-out were pursued as the highest priorities. Most countries accelerated Covid-19 inoculation from the second half of 2021. Southeast Asia broadly shifted into recovery mode, while public expenditure and indirect income supplements continued to provide relief and stimulus, and increasing attention was placed on job creation and reviving business activity. Cross-border travel resumed in late 2021 after an almost two-year hiatus, bringing relief to the strains placed on business, leisure and personal ties, although onerous screening and testing requirements were also introduced.