Highlights
• As of 7 May 2020, 171,799 cases were confirmed positive of COVID-19 in the East Asia and Pacific with 7,317 deaths. This entails 84,409 confirmed cases in China and an additional 87,390 confirmed cases in other East Asia and Pacific countries. Of these, Indonesia (12,438 cases), the Philippines (10,004 cases), Malaysia (6,428 cases) and Thailand (2,992 cases) are among the most heavily affected.
• All countries in the East Asia and Pacific region have taken extensive measure to prevent or contain the spread of COVID-19. While the disease puts a heavy burden on healthcare systems, the socio-economic consequences of the crisis are unravelling rapidly. A potential economic decline of 0.5 per cent of GDP in the region could usher millions of households into poverty and undo years of hard-won development gains.1 • UNICEF is communicating lifesaving and accurate information on COVID19 to children, women and the general population in the region and supports governments with their infection prevention and control measures. To date, UNICEF reached over 123 million people with COVID19 messages in the East Asia and Pacific region.
• To mitigate the impact of UNICEF is also supporting governments in the region with the continuation and response of education, social protection and child protection services. So far UNICEF’s efforts contributed to the continued learning of over 41 million learners and provided 466,000 people with Mental and Psychosocial Support.