Early measures and impact
In an attempt to control and prevent the further spread of the virus, lockdown measures were introduced throughout many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This saw the closing of borders and banning of any non-essential activities. The Chinese government deployed a policy called zero-COVID, which aimed to completely eradicate the virus in a given area by implementing measures like mass testing, contact tracing, and area-wide lockdowns. As many APAC countries have a high dependency on Chinese business, the zero-COVID strategy's impact was an additional factor stunting economic growth across the region.Due to extended border closures, the tourism industry in APAC was particularly affected. The region as a whole experienced a dramatic decline in tourist arrivals, which posed a threat to economies highly depended on their travel and hospitality industries.
