`If Covid-19 sweeps through some Asian countries the way it appears in Europe and the US, the number of infections and deaths will increase dramatically,` professor Yik Ying Teo, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

Teo believes that many countries in Asia do not have enough financial and professional resources like the West to respond to the epidemic.

The Singaporean professor warned that it is likely that the epidemic will spread in Asia, similar to the situation in Europe and the US.

Indonesian people buy goods in Jakarta on April 2.

By April 7, Southeast Asia recorded hundreds of new infections.

Japan and Singapore are at risk of `failing` against Covid-19.

`For places where developments are deteriorating, including Singapore and Japan, an appropriate response is vital. Measures include restricting travel and limiting people’s interactions to prevent the spread of nCoV

Dr. Mark Lurie, School of Public Health, Brown University, USA, expressed concern with the situation in the Indian city of Mumbai, where there are many slums inhabited by poor people.

On a global scale, Lurie assessed the number of infections exceeding the one million mark on April 3 as a `grim moment`.

`We don’t know about the actual number of cases, about people who haven’t been tested,` Lurie said.

Speaking of positive signs, Professor Teo said that the situation in Asia is not `uniformly bad`.

Dr. Lurie believes that there are signs of Covid-19 cooling in Europe.

However, Lurie warned that if countries lift restrictions on a large scale, even under perfect conditions, there is still a risk of epidemic clusters appearing.

`The worst-case scenario right now is that we return to normal activities too soon, before we have the data to back it up,` Lurie said.

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