'Covid Zero' havens find reopening harder than taming virus

A SMATTERING of places, mainly across the Asia-Pacific region, have seen breathtaking victories in the battle against Covid-19 by effectively wiping it out within their borders. Now they face a fresh test: rejoining the rest of the world, which is still awash in the pathogen.

In some ways, the success of "Covid Zero" locations is becoming a straitjacket. As cities like New York and London return to in-person dealmaking and business as usual - tolerating hundreds of daily cases as vaccination gathers pace - financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong risk being left behind, as they maintain stringent border curbs and try to stamp out single-digit flareups.

After a brutal 18 months that claimed 3.3 million lives worldwide, nations like China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand have suffered fewer deaths during the entire pandemic than many countries - even highly vaccinated ones - continue to log in a matter of days.