In late December 2019, the Coronavirus (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), was identified. In early January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the first cluster of pneumonia cases. Subsequently, this led to recognition of human-to-human transmission, a virulent outbreak, and the quarantining of Wuhan on the 23 January. This was not enough to prevent the spread of COVD-19 to other nations. A planetary pandemic was declared on 11th March and local transmission spread to all regions of the world. The COVID-19 global pandemic led to untold human and economic suffering and tested some countries capabilities to their limits. Many cities and regions undertook quarantine measures, international travel was severely curtailed, and the present-day global system temporarily ground to a halt. In effect, the pandemic implicated humanity’s global activities and presented both the fragility and robustness of different national and regional responses. As of the end of January 2024, over 6.9 million total deaths have been confirmed 1. As with others, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) was deeply impacted by this unprecedented event. To respond to this, we set up an initiative, the “Corona Chronicles: voices from the field” to offer a platform to capture what is happening on the ground. The initiative has presented different perspectives and voices from Southeast Asia and other regions where our researchers and colleagues are based and work. It has provided an up-to-date commentary, analysis, and thoughtful insight into how COVID-19 impacted individuals, communities, and nations as well as research initiatives. This platform has disseminated comparative perspectives from across different regions to share knowledge and responses. These are not limited solely to academic analysis, but also welcomed nuanced commentary from writers, filmmakers, journalists, health care experts, and others.
30 January, 2024
Mario Lopez
Okamoto Masaaki
1. Coronavirus Death Toll, Worldometer https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll
