Covid recovery index: Bangladesh top in South Asia, globally 5th

Bangladesh has advanced eight notches as the country has been ranked 5th out of 121 countries worldwide on Nikkei’s Covid-19 Recovery Index, reports news agency UNB.

With a score of 80 on the index, Bangladesh ranked only below Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Cambodia and Rwanda in the latest edition of the index published on Thursday.

Of the other South Asian countries in the list, Nepal ranked 6th, Pakistan 23rd, Sri Lanka 31st, and India 70th.

Bangladesh’s Covid-19 infections have been on a downward spiral in recent months. The country’s total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,127, with no new fatalities reported for over a fortnight now.

Earlier, Bangladesh was placed 13th on the Covid recovery index in March this year.

Taiwan’s ranking has plunged in the latest edition of Nikkei’s Covid-19 Recovery Index as the island transitions from a strict zero-virus strategy to living with the respiratory illness, even as infections surge.

The country tumbled out of the 4th spot to No. 94 in the latest ranking, tied with China, which fell 62 places from last month as the country battles its worst outbreak since the virus was first detected in the city of Wuhan more than two years ago.

The index, updated at the end of each month, assesses countries and regions on infection management, vaccine rollouts and social mobility.

The higher the ranking, the closer a place is to recovery, characterised by lower infection and death rates, better inoculation coverage, as well as fewer movement restrictions.

The index is maintained by Nikkei, Japan’s leading business publication group that includes the Nikkei, Nikkei Asia, and the Financial Times (of London).