There is tentative good news from the Philippines and Indonesia where the Omicron wave seems to have receded, with Philippines reporting less than 2.5% of its daily peak six weeks ago and Indonesia receding for two weeks to below 40% of its daily peak

There is tentative good news from the Philippines and Indonesia on the Covid-19 front where the Omicron wave seem to have receded, with Philippines reporting less than 2.5% of its daily peak six weeks ago and Indonesia receding for two weeks to below 40% of its daily Omicron peak of 64,718 new cases on 16th February 2022.

So far, the Omicron daily peak of 38,867 new cases on 15th January 2022 in the Philippines is 48.3% higher than its Delta daily peak of 26,208 cases on 11th September 2021 and the Indonesian daily peak of Omicron wave of 64,718 new cases on 16th February 2022 is 14% higher than its Delta peak of 56,757 new cases on 15th July 2021.

In Thailand, the Omicron peak on 26th February 2022 with 25,615 new cases is 9.4% higher as compared to the Delta daily peak on 13th August 2021 with 23,418 new Covid-19 cases.

If this trend holds, then Malaysia will join Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia where daily peak of new Covid-19 cases in the Omicron wave will not exceed 50% of the Delta wave daily peak, unlike the United Kingdom and the United States, where the daily peak of new Omicron cases is about thrice that of the Delta peak, or in South Korea where it is 20 times higher or in Hong Kong where it is 60 times higher than the Delta daily peak.

India is a country where the Omicron daily peak is lower than the Delta daily peak. India’s Delta daily peak was 414,433 cases on 6th May 2021 while its Omicron daily peak was on 20th January 2022 with 347,254 new Covid-19 cases. Yesterday, India reported 5,885 cases or 1.7 per cent of its Omicron daily peak.

The Philippines has lifted most COVID-19 restrictions in the capital Manila after a sharp drop in infections and a rising number of people vaccinated.

It comes weeks after the country reopened its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in two years and as campaigning for the May 9 national presidential elections cranks up.

Businesses, government agencies and public transport will be allowed to operate at full capacity as the metropolis of 13 million people is placed on the lowest alert level in the "new normal".

Masks will still have to be worn in public, but will no longer be required during sport or exercise under the new rules, which also apply to another 38 areas of the country. Temperature checks for entering establishments will not be necessary and contact tracing efforts all but scrapped.

The Covid-19 developments in Malaysia in the next few days are therefore important as to what is possible in the next week.