Bangkok, Mar 26 (IANS): The World Bank said in a report on Friday that the "Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions it provoked" sparked "domestic demand and supply shocks" across the East Asia and the Pacific region.

The ensuing "economic distress" meant "poverty in the region stopped declining for the first time in 20 years", dpa news agency quoted the report as saying.

Countries "with the weakest performance" had "high rates of Covid-19 infections and mortality" and relied more on prolonged restrictions on mobility than on "an effective test-based strategy", it said.

The curbs disproportionately affected the less well-off, who were "more likely to reduce their food consumption, drop out of school, accumulate debt, and sell assets", with the situation worse again for people in countries with "limited fiscal space", noted the report.

The only two major economies in the region to register growth "surpassing pre-Covid-19 levels" last year were Vietnam and China, where Covid-19 was first detected.

GDP numbers for 2020 showed tourism-reliant economies, such as Cambodia and Thailand, being hit hard, while exporters of electronics, such as Vietnam, fared relatively well.

Though many economies were rebounding by late 2020, average output was 5 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, with the biggest difference of 8.4 per cent seen in the Philippines.

Recovery elsewhere was derailed by new infections, particularly in Malaysia, which was hit with "a significant resurgence" around the turn of the year, the report added.