Total number of COVID-19 cases in APAC December 2022, by country or territory
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 3, 2023
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China saw infection cases spread throughout the Asia-Pacific region. By December 12, 2022, India had faced over 44.6 million coronavirus cases. South Korea followed behind India as having had the second highest number of coronavirus cases in Asia-Pacific, with about 27.7 million cases. At the beginning of the outbreak, people in South Korea had been optimistic and predicted that the number of cases would start to stabilize.
What is SARS CoV 2?
Novel coronavirus, officially known as SARS CoV 2, is a disease which causes respiratory problems which can lead to difficulty breathing and pneumonia. The illness is similar to that of SARS which spread throughout China in 2003. After the outbreak of the coronavirus, various businesses and shops closed to prevent further spread of the disease. Impacts from flight cancellations and travel plans were felt across the Asia-Pacific region. Many people expressed feelings of anxiety as to how the virus would progress.
Impact throughout Asia-Pacific
The Coronavirus and its variants have affected the Asia-Pacific region in various ways. Out of all Asia-Pacific countries, India was highly affected by the pandemic and experienced more than 50 thousand deaths. However, the country also saw the highest number of recoveries within the APAC region, followed by South Korea and Japan.
The U.S. has a pilot shortage — here’s how airlines are trying to fix it
U.S. airlines are facing a severe pilot shortage.
Airline staff shortages expected to last into 2023
Airline staffing shortages, which are already disrupting summer vacation plans, could extend well into 2023, some industry officials say.
The disruptions are happening everywhere as borders reopen between places like the U.S., Europe and Australia, unleashing two years of pent-up demand.
Flashback: Early in the pandemic, airlines urged many senior pilots, flight attendants and other employees to take buyouts or early retirements, anticipating the industry would shrink and take some time to crawl back.
What’s happening: U.S. airlines are offering bigger paychecks in the hopes of easing the labor crunch.
Yes, but: higher labor rates could also accelerate the phaseout of smaller regional jets, leaving some smaller markets unconnected to large hub airports.
Meanwhile, Alaska and United both opened flight training schools earlier this year and are offering financial aid to help defray the $70,000 cost of becoming a pilot.
The bottom line: Despite the staff shortages and enormous economic headwinds, revenge traveldemand remains strong, giving airlines hope for a modest return to profitability this year.
Australian Free Trade Agreement
Office of the United States Trade Representative
The United States monitors implementation of the U.S.-Australia FTA closely and meets regularly with Australia under the FTA to discuss the functioning of the agreement and address specific trade issues. The Joint Committee set up under the FTA supervises implementation of the Agreement and review of the overall trade and investment relationship. The agreement also establishes committees on goods, agriculture, sanitary and phytosanitary matters, and financial services as well as subcommittees on labor and environment, which report to the Joint Committee.
The full text of the Agreement is available here and the Advisory Committee Reports are available here