Lives not lost: Asia sees unexpected gains in virus lockdowns
20 May, 2020
Emergency personnel usually busy attending accidents on Thailand's roads mill around ambulances parked at something station -- fewer crashes and crimes a welcome outcome for a number of Parts of asia during coronavirus lockdowns.
As Asia starts to examine the damage due to the pandemic, some countries are realizing there were unforeseen benefits.
Vietnam's nationwide isolation has seen a drop in crime, Hong Kong has hailed an early end to its twelve-monthly flu season -- and now, Thailand is seeing a much-needed win in road safety.
"Accidents have been down quite a bit," said Banjerd Premjit, chief of the Por Tek Tung emergency medical team operating just outside Bangkok.
In Pathum Thani province, where his team of three ambulances normally rush to about 15 grisly crashes a night, accidents have dropped by half.
He credited Thailand's virus-fuelled measures, including a ban on alcohol sales and a nighttime curfew.
"People drink less and they are less reckless on the roads," Banjerd said as his fellow medics played mobile games while waiting for another emergency call.
Empty coffins
Thailand has among the highest rates of road fatalities per capita on the planet, coming second and then war-torn Libya in 2015.
The country brought in its anti-coronavirus measures prior to the "Songkran" New Year in April, hoping to discourage booze-soaked gatherings.
The week-long holiday is marked annually by a jump in traffic accidents as drink-drivers on scooters enhance the road carnage.
But this season saw a 60 percent decrease nationwide, with the death toll dropping to 167 from 386 people the year before.
Even Thailand's coffin makers have seen a dip popular, with one factory reporting orders are down by a third.
"The outbreak has resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of casualties," lamented Thanatat Poonau, manager of Suriya Coffin Factory, as staff around him fed plywood to mechanical saws.
Regional neighbors with traffic-clogged megacities are reporting similar trends.
Deaths from road accidents in Japan fell by practically 20 percent in April, while Malaysia saw daily fatalities decrease from 17 to five, according to official news agency Bernama.
This year's figures are even promising in India, which normally records 150,000 fatalities every year on its chaotic roads.
Police said the death toll in the southwestern state of Kerala sank by 90 percent through the lockdown, weighed against the same period this past year.
"Rapes also fell from 123 to 37 cases through the lockdown," Kerala police spokesman Pramod Kumar told AFP.
Less flu, blue skies
When the coronavirus hit Hong Kong in late January, residents scarred by memories of the 2003 SARS outbreak flocked to buy masks and immediately embraced social distancing.
With millions practicing better hygiene, doctors noticed the total annual winter flu season found an abrupt end in February -- nine weeks early with significantly less than a third of last year's deaths.
On the mainland empty roads and shuttered factories meant killer toxic pollutants dissipated.
Scientists estimate China's improved quality of air averted a lot more than 12,000 cardiovascular-related deaths, although warned in the Lancet journal their results should be "interpreted with caution".
Environmentally friendly gains seen during a global lockdown have scientists and celebrities calling for a "radical transformation" to save the planet instead of a return to normal.
But many businesses want the restrictions lifted immediately.
Suriya Coffin Factory has already established to donate coffins to walk-in customers who cannot afford to place their loved kinds to rest, said manager Thanatat.
A sustained mortality slowdown would probably sound the death knell for their business, he added.
"If the outbreak is protracted, we might need to downsize our production even more... we need to cut costs on almost anything."
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
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