Summary
Asia is expected to lead the way in a post-COVID global economic recovery, but a new upsurge in COVID-19 cases highlights how the region is not out of the woods yet. Outbreak conditions differ by country, but broadly speaking spiraling caseloads are being fueled by the same dynamics as hotspots in the West: winter weather, new and highly transmissible variants, lockdown fatigue, and a premature overconfidence in vaccines as a game-changer.
![U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in the ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 2, 2019. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain], cc Flickr U.S. Department of State, modified, http://www.usa.gov/copyright.shtml](https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ASEAN2019-768x369.jpg "U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in the ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 2, 2019. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain], cc Flickr U.S. Department of State, modified, http://www.usa.gov/copyright.shtml")
