A COVID-19 patient is tended by a nurse at the COVID-19 ICU ward of Amir Al-Momenin hospital in the city of Qom, some 125 km south of the capital Tehran, Iran on Sept 15, 2021. (VAHID SALEMI / AP)
WELLINGTON / SYDNEY / JERUSALEM / SINGAPORE / YANGON / ANKARA / TEHRAN / JAKARTA / COLOMBO / HANOI / VIENTIANE / PHNOM PENH / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / BANGKOK – Iran's health ministry on Tuesday reported 8,305 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's case count to 6,004,460.
The pandemic also claimed 112 lives in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 127,551, said Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
A total of 5,629,596 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 3,640 remain in intensive care units, according to the ministry.
By Tuesday, 55,405,154 Iranians have received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 40,193,198 have taken two jabs. Meanwhile, some 268,638 people in the country have received their third doses.
A total of 36,502,080 tests have so far been carried out across the country.
Australia
AstraZeneca's antibody cocktail against COVID-19 received its first nod for registration in Australia, the country's medical regulatory body said on Tuesday.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration said it granted provisional determination to the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker last week for its antibody cocktail, EVUSHELD, the first protective shot other than vaccines against COVID-19.
The regulator said the provisional determination is the first step in the process, adding that it now expects AstraZeneca to submit an application for provisional registration shortly.
The determination of the antibody-based therapy, which is already under real-time review in Europe and pending emergency approval in the United States, comes as Australia boosts its vaccination rates, recently launching booster shots, amid easing curbs.
The cocktail, which has proven to work as a preventative shot in the non-infected, was also shown to save lives and prevent severe disease when given as treatment within a week of first symptoms.
Meanwhile, Unvaccinated people are 16 times more likely to end up in intensive care units or die from COVID-19, Australia's New South Wales state said in a report, with officials urging people to get inoculated as Australia begins to live with the coronavirus.
The data from New South Wales (NSW) health department out late on Monday showed only 11 percent of people out of 412 who died from the Delta outbreak over four months through early October were fully vaccinated. The average age of those deaths was 82.
Only around 3 percent of people in intensive care units had two doses, while more than 63 percent of the 61,800 cases detected between June 16 and Oct 7 were unvaccinated.
"Young people with two doses of a vaccine experienced lower rates of infection and almost no serious disease, while those unvaccinated in this age group were at greater risk of developing COVID-19 and needing hospitalisation," NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said in a statement.
The report's findings were in line with data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said in September that unvaccinated individuals were 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated.
This photo shows a general view of the offices of British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC in Macclesfield, Cheshire on July 21, 2020. (PAUL ELLIS / AFP)
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca's antibody cocktail against COVID-19 received its first nod for registration in Australia, the country's medical regulatory body said on Tuesday.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration said it granted provisional determination to the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker last week for its antibody cocktail, EVUSHELD, the first protective shot other than vaccines against COVID-19.
The regulator said the provisional determination is the first step in the process, adding that it now expects AstraZeneca to submit an application for provisional registration shortly.
The determination of the antibody-based therapy, which is already under real-time review in Europe and pending emergency approval in the United States, comes as Australia boosts its vaccination rates, recently launching booster shots, amid easing curbs.
The cocktail, which has proven to work as a preventative shot in the non-infected, was also shown to save lives and prevent severe disease when given as treatment within a week of first symptoms.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh's Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd will start selling a generic version of Merck & Co's antiviral pill for COVID-19 following local regulatory approval, it said on Tuesday.
The announcement marks the launch of the world's first generic version of Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics' tablet, molnupiravir, which has been touted as a potential game-changer in the fight against the coronavirus.
Molnupiravir received its first regulatory approval globally, in the UK last week. It is still under review in the United States and Europe.
Beximco will soon begin selling generic molnupiravir, a cheaper version of Merck's branded pill, in Bangladesh, as it received emergency use authorisation for the treatment from the country's Directorate General of Drug Administration, it said in a statement. Exports would depend on regulatory approvals globally, it added.
Beximco said it doesn't expect sales of the generic molnupiravir to significantly boost revenues, given the currently low COVID-19 infection rate in Bangladesh, which neighbours India.
Cambodia
Cambodia has allowed wedding ceremonies and religious functions in capital Phnom Penh amid COVID-19, with the number of guests being limited to a maximum of 200, Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng said in a decision late on Monday.
The decision took effect immediately, he said, adding that wedding or festival organizers must ask for permission from local authorities and sign a contract to abide by a standard operating procedures (SOP) and anti-COVID-19 norms.
"If any organizers refuse to cooperate or comply with the SOP and other health safety measures improperly, which could pose a risk to COVID-19 transmission, local authorities are authorized to take immediate action to suspend those events," he said.
The latest move came after the number of fresh cases continues to decline and most of the population have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
A medical worker (right) inoculates a woman with a dose of the Covishield vaccine against the coronavirus at a hospital in Allahabad on Oct 18, 2021. (SANJAY KANOJIA / AFP)
India
India could resume deliveries of COVID-19 shots to global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX in a few weeks for the first time since April, two health industry sources said, ending a suspension of supplies that has hurt poor countries.
Based on an informal approval from India, COVAX officials have started planning allocations of the Covishield shot for various countries, said one of the sources, both of whom declining to be identified pending a final agreement.
Covishield is a licensed version of the AstraZeneca shot made by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker.
SII has nearly quadrupled its output of Covishield to up to 240 million doses a month since April, when India stopped all exports in order to inoculate its own people during a surge of cases.
"There will need to be purchase orders confirmed to SII, labelling and packing, export authorization granted for each of these shipments," said the source. "So the first deliveries, assuming the Indian government grants export authorization, won't happen until a few weeks from now."
SII, the health ministry and the WHO did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ministry said in a statement earlier in the day that Indian states had more than 159 million unutilised doses of various vaccines, as inoculations have slowed after 79 percent of the country's 944 million adults got one dose and 37 percent got two doses.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 34,377,113 on Tuesday, as 10,126 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the ministry's latest data.
According to the ministry, the number of new cases registered in the past 24 hours is the lowest in 263 days.
Indonesia
Indonesia confirmed 244 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, raising its tally of infections to 4,248,409, according to the country's Health Ministry.
The ministry reported that the death toll from the virus in the country rose by 12 to 143,557, while 1,283 more people recovered during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,095,078.
A medic from Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service prepares a booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine in Tel Aviv, Israel on Aug 14, 2021. (TSAFRIR ABAYOV / AP)
Israel
Israeli health officials will decide behind closed doors on whether to allow child COVID-19 vaccinations, citing concerns that decision makers would otherwise not speak freely due to aggressive anti-vax rhetoric by members of the public.
Israel has been a world leader in vaccinations and more than 40 percent of the population has received a third shot.
Following the green light given by the US Food and Drug Administration for using the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on children aged 5 to 11, Israel's Health Ministry is set on Wednesday to hold a decisive discussion among experts on whether to follow suit.
A discussion last week was broadcast live, but the ministry on Monday said the next meeting would be closed to the public.
"All the considerations for and against this decision were discussed, including the ability to hold a free and open discourse on such a sensitive and crucial issue against the backdrop of a prevailing violent discourse, which may affect the course of the discussion," the ministry said.
There have been an increasing number of threats against officials at the Health Ministry, police say, and at least one senior health official has been assigned a personal security detail.
Laos
Lao Ministry of Health will provide booster COVID-19 vaccinations for medical staff to make them better protected amid the battle against the virus.
The third round of vaccinations is expected to be rolled out in January and February 2022, with at least 70,000 doses to be administered to medical staff, local daily Vientiane Times reported Tuesday, quoting Deputy Director of the National Center for Maternal and Child Health Viengkhan Phixay.
Medical staff working on the frontline to control the virus outbreak are at the highest risk because they work in close proximity to people infected with COVID-19 on a daily basis, the official said.
The COVID-19 infections in Laos continued to increase across multiple provinces, with 1,049 new cases reported on Tuesday, raising the total tally to 48,391
Myanmar
Myanmar reported 999 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a 3.82-percent daily test positivity rate in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health on Monday.
The total number of coronavirus infections in the Asian country has risen to 507,815, with the death toll recorded at 18,839 after 18 new deaths were reported on Monday.
Freedom and Rights Coalition demonstrators march along Lambton Quay before gathering at Parliament, in Wellington, New Zealand on Nov 9, 2021. Thousands of people marched on New Zealand's Parliament in Wellington on Tuesday to protest against vaccine mandates and lockdowns. (MARK MITCHELL / NZ HERALD VIA AP)
New Zealand
New Zealand beefed up security measures at its parliament on Tuesday as thousands of people gathered to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and government lockdowns.
All but two entrances to the parliament building, known as the Beehive, were closed off in the presence of unprecedented levels of police and security personnel, as mostly unmasked protesters marched through central Wellington and congregated outside parliament.
While the demonstration was peaceful, many people were seen holding signs and placards with messages like "Freedom" and "Kiwis are not lab rats" and shouting slogans as they demanded the government roll back compulsory vaccination and lift restrictions.
"I will not be coerced and I will not be forced into taking something I don't want in my body," a protester said outside parliament.
"I'm asking (the government) to give us back 2018. Simple as that. I want my freedoms back."
New Zealand has struggled to fight off a highly infectious outbreak of the Delta variant this year, forcing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to move from its strategy of elimination through lockdowns to living with the virus with higher vaccinations.
Ardern last month said the country would require teachers and workers in the health and disability sectors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and has promised to end restrictions only after 90 percent of the eligible population is inoculated.
That threshold is higher than many other countries and has invited criticism from people calling for more freedoms, while the mandate will be a hurdle for those looking to get back to work but still avoiding the jab.
New Zealand reported 125 new Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in the community on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country's community outbreak to 4,666.
Singapore
Singapore will require those who chose not to get the vaccines to pay for their own medical bills if they get COVID-19. To date, 85 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and 18 percent have received boosters.
The city-state is also easing some tough restrictions put in place more than a month ago, with five people from the same residence allowed to dine at restaurants starting from Wednesday.
Restaurants and bars will also be allowed to play soft recorded music, after music inside eateries was earlier banned to prevent patrons from having to raise their voices.
The changes mark some relaxation of restrictive curbs that were reimposed on one of the most vaccinated countries in the world amid a jump in infections that have tested its health-care system.
Singapore reported 2,470 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 220,803.
South Korea
South Korea has reported a total of 28,293 breakthrough COVID-19 infections, which refer to the fully vaccinated people who were infected with the virus, health authorities said on Tuesday.
The number of those who were infected with the COVID-19 two weeks after the full vaccination stood at 28,293 as of Oct 31, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
It equals to 85.5 in every 100,000 people who got fully vaccinated. As of Oct 31, the number of the fully inoculated people was 33,108,428.
It is known that people can be protected from the virus two weeks after the fully vaccination.
By age group, the number marked the highest among those in their 30s, whose breakthrough cases reached 117.7 in every 100,000 fully-inoculated people.
Among the total breakthrough cases, the number of those who were in a critical condition was 445. The death toll came in at 136.
Children wait to get a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at a children's hospital in Colombo on Sept 24, 2021, as the country began inoculating children over 12. (ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP)
Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said on Monday that legal advice had been sought on if COVID-19 vaccine cards could be made mandatory for people to visit public places in the country.
Speaking to legislators in the parliament, Rambukwella said that following discussions, the attorney general had informed him that legal procedures could be taken against those who had not been vaccinated with both doses of COVID-19 vaccines if they visit the public places in the future
Rambukwella said the Health Ministry will introduce a mobile app to display whether both doses of the vaccine had been obtained and if not, people will not be allowed to enter public places.
According to the ministry, over 60 percent of its total population had so far been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a mass vaccination program, which began in January, is still underway.
Thailand
Thailand plans to reopen its borders to workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, a government official said on Tuesday, in a bid to ease a labour shortage that is hurting its export and tourism-dependent economy.
Pairote Chotikasathien, from the Ministry of Labor, said the rules relating to vaccination status for the migrant workers, quarantine procedures and COVID-19 testing will be decided on Wednesday.
Thailand's big exporting industries such as food and rubber production rely heavily on migrant labour. But strict border controls and quarantine rules have virtually halted all labour migration.
Pairote estimated the country needed 420,000 foreign workers at this time, mostly in the construction, manufacturing and seafood industries. Many workers left the country as it battled its worst COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year and have not returned.
Some workers who remained in the country were placed in “bubble and seal” policies under factory and construction quarantine schemes.
Thailand has nearly 2 million confirmed infections and 19,764 deaths, the majority of which came after April when the Delta variant was detected among migrant workers in a construction camp.
Turkey
Turkey on Monday confirmed 27,824 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 8,259,503, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 187 to 72,314, while 28,255 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.
Vietnam
Vietnam reported 7,988 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 7,954 locally transmitted and 34 imported, according to the country's Ministry of Health.
Most of the community cases were detected in southern localities, including 1,316 in Ho Chi Minh City, 969 in Dong Nai province, and 823 in Binh Duong province.
The new infections brought the country's total tally to 976,672, with 22,598 deaths, the ministry said