According to the World Bank, the spread of the COVID-19 Delta form has hampered the recovery of East Asia and the Pacific, which has called for a comprehensive approach to limit COVID-19 and improve inclusive growth.

According to the World Bank's newly issued East Asia and Pacific Fall 2021 Economic Update, economic activity began to stagnate in the second quarter of 2021, and growth predictions for most nations in the region have been reduced.

"Whereas in 2020 the region contained COVID-19 while other regions of the world struggled, the rise in COVID-19 cases in 2021 has decreased growth prospects for 2021," said Manuela Ferro, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific.

While China's economy is expected to grow by 8.5 percent this year, up 0.4 percentage points from April's forecast, the rest of the region is expected to grow by 2.5 percent, down 1.9 percentage points from April's forecast, according to the report.

Aaditya Mattoo, the World Bank's chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific, told Xinhua in a remote interview on Monday that while some countries, such as China, have been relatively successful in keeping the virus at bay, others, particularly Vietnam and Malaysia, are now struggling to contain it.

Others, he continued, have always battled, and their troubles have gotten "worse," so they are suffering a decrease in economic activity as well. Prospects for them are less hopeful than before.