A health worker (left) wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a man for Covid-19 coronavirus testing in Hanoi on August 20, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
SYDNEY / TEHRAN / JERUSALEM / TOKYO / BEIRUT / KUALA LUMPUR / AUCKLAND / MANILA / SINGAPORE / HANOI / KATHMANDU – Vietnam reported 8,162 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the country's total tally to 1,000,897, according to its Ministry of Health.
Southern localities including Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong province, and Dong Nai province are by far home to the highest number of transmissions and deaths.
The health ministry also reported 84 deaths on Thursday, bringing the total coronavirus-related fatalities in Vietnam to 22,849.
Nationwide, 845,948 COVID-19 patients have recovered, up 1,894 from Wednesday.
Nearly 96 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including more than 32 million second shots, have been administered, according to the ministry.
As of Thursday, the country has registered 995,903 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases since the start of the current wave in late April, the ministry said.
Passengers wear face masks as they arrive at the departures terminal at Sydney Domestic Airport in Sydney, Australia Nov 5, 2021. Flights between New South Wales and Victoria have resumed without any COVID-19 restrictions, as the border between the two states reopens. (BIANCA DE MARCHI / AAP IMAGE VIA AP)
Australia
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged travel bubble arrangements with Japan and South Korea as the country gradually reopens to the world.
As of Monday, fully vaccinated Australians are able to travel to Singapore without quarantining provided they test negative to COVID-19 within 48 hours of departure and again after arriving.
From Nov 21, Australia's borders will open the other way, meaning fully vaccinated travelers from Singapore will be able to fly into Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney without undergoing quarantine.
"Singapore opens up on the 21st of November. I think we'll move fairly quickly beyond that into South Korea and Japan, and before the end of the year I hope we're opening up even more," Morrison said on Wednesday.
Morrison also said that international students and skilled workers will be allowed back into Australia without quarantining "as soon as possible."
"Students will be back, I think, before the end of the year," he said.
On Thursday morning, there were more than 1,500 new locally-acquired coronavirus cases and five deaths reported in Australia, as the country continues to battle the third wave of infections.
The majority of new cases were in Victoria, the country's second-most populous state with Melbourne as the capital city, where 1,313 cases and four deaths were reported.
As of Wednesday 89.7 percent of Australians aged 16 and above have received one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 81.5 percent were fully inoculated, according to the Department of Health.
A total of 71.1 percent of the population aged 12-15 in Australia's state of New South Wales have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of midnight Tuesday, while 90.4 percent of those aged 16 and over have done so, according to figures released by NSW Health on Thursday.
However, as vaccination rates in the state soared, the youngest community members remained susceptible.
Local newspaper Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday that more than 270 NSW schools and 300 childcare centers had been closed due to COVID-19 cases during the past month.
Cambodia
Cambodia has administered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 14.01 million people, or 87.6 percent of its 16-million population, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Thursday.
"Overall, Cambodia has identified vaccination as a key strategic measure," he told the opening ceremony of the 27th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting via video link.
With a high vaccination rate, the government announced on Nov 1 the gradual reopening of the country in all sectors, he said.
According to the Ministry of Health, among the first-dose recipients, 13.18 million, or 82.4 percent, have been fully vaccinated with both required shots, and 2 million, or 12.5 percent, have received a third dose or a booster dose.
Cambodia has launched a COVID-19 national vaccination campaign for all people aged five years and older since February, with China being the major vaccine supplier. Most of the vaccines used in the kingdom's immunization program are Sinovac and Sinopharm.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation on Thursday reported 66 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national total caseload to 119,358, the MoH said, adding that five new fatalities were recorded, taking the overall death toll to 2,850.
An additional 71 patients recovered, lifting the total number of recoveries to 115,730, it said.
Iran
The Iranian Health Ministry reported on Wednesday 7,948 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total infections to 6,012,408.
According to an official briefing published on the ministry, the pandemic has claimed 127,686 lives in the country so far, after 135 new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours.
A total of 5,643,381 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 3,616 remain in intensive care units, the ministry said on its official website.
By Wednesday, 55,484,337 Iranians have received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 40,829,657 of them have taken two jabs.
The official report added that 36,611,398 tests have so far been carried out across the country.
In this file photo taken on Sept 1, 2021, an Israeli teacher welcomes pupils wearing protective face masks upon their return to the new school year amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in Israel, at Beit Hakerem Israeli elementary school in Jerusalem. (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and senior aides holed up in a war bunker on Thursday during an exercise simulating an outbreak of a lethal new COVID-19 variant.
He described the day-long "Omega Drill", named after a fictitious virus strain, as a precaution to ensure Israel was prepared for "any scenario".
The nuclear blast-proof complex in the Jerusalem hills, known as the "National Management Center", was also used to coordinate initial responses to the new coronavirus in March 2020.
The drill involves civilian and military leaders being subjected to mass testing, hospital admissions and curfews, Bennett's office said in a statement. Findings from the exercise will be shared with foreign partners.
"Israel is safe and protected. In order to maintain this, and to safeguard the continuity of normal life, we must continue to closely monitor the situation and prepare for any scenario," the statement quoted him as saying.
The bunker was built more than a decade ago because of concern about Iran's nuclear program and missile exchanges with Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Israel's pandemic advisory board on Wednesday backed administering Pfizer's and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to children age 5-11, health officials said, as a fourth wave of infections subsides nationwide.
The Health Ministry is widely expected to accept the panel's recommendation and begin rolling out the shots this month.
The original shot given to those aged 12 and older is 30 micrograms. Pfizer and BioNTech have said their vaccine showed 90.7 percent efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children aged 5 to 11.
Israel's 9.4 million population is relatively young, with around 1.2 million children age 5-11, and health officials have been doubtful the country could reach "herd immunity" without children being vaccinated.
Four million Israelis have taken booster shots, which in August were approved for anyone who had their second Pfizer jab at least five months earlier.
Japan
The Japanese government plans to restart its “Go To” subsidy program for domestic travel in January or later, the Mainichi newspaper reported. The program was suspended in December due to a surge in COVID cases.
The Japanese government on Monday began accepting applications under a fresh COVID-19 quarantine rule, allowing to reduce the quarantine periods for vaccinated business travelers, and resume accepting applications from people who would stay for long-term including students and technical trainees.
Under the new rules, vaccinated business travelers who are on visits of up to three months will only undergo quarantine for three days, compared with the 10 that formerly applied to vaccinated Japanese nationals and foreigners with residency in Japan when returning from business trips.
Lebanon
Lebanon registered on Wednesday the highest number of COVID-19 infections since Sept 8 with an increase by 1,004 cases, the Health Ministry reported.
This raises the total number of infections in the country to 648,782.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths from the virus went up by five cases to 8,561.
The Health Ministry noted that the positivity rate of COVID-19 PCR tests stands at 6.5 percent.
It added that only 31 percent of the Lebanese population has so far administered the COVID-19 vaccine.
Health Minister Firas Abiad said on Wednesday that the ministry has started sending mobile messages for the elderly to receive the third shot of the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the winter season.
Malaysia
Malaysia will reopen its borders to international visitors by Jan 1 at the latest, a government advisory council said on Thursday, as the country seeks to revive its ailing tourism sector.
The Southeast Asian country has gradually reopened its economy in recent weeks as coronavirus infection rates have slowed amid a ramped-up vaccination program.
More than three-quarters of Malaysia's 32 million population are vaccinated, government statistics show.
Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who chairs a council tasked with spearheading Malaysia's economic recovery program, told reporters the tourism industry was recovering too slowly without foreigners and noted that operators needed time to resume businesses.
Muhyiddin, however, said infection control measures such as COVID-19 tests will remain in place, with authorities to determine entry based on the COVID-19 situation in originating countries, and other factors.
He did not state when a firm date for reopening will be announced, but said the decision was still being detailed by health and security agencies.
Malaysia this week announced it would launch a vaccinated travel lane with neighboring Singapore on Nov 29, allowing quarantine-free travel for inoculated people between both countries.
It has also agreed with Indonesia to introduce a similar travel corridor on a gradual basis.
Myanmar
Myanmar reported 1,180 new COVID-19 cases with a 4.09-percent daily test positivity rate, according to a release from the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.
The number of total COVID-19 infections increased to 509,771 while its death toll was recorded at 18,869 after 14 new deaths were reported.
A total of 481,161 patients have been discharged from hospitals and over 5.11 million samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far.
Over 8.85 million people have been fully vaccinated nationwide, while over 5.3 million people have received the first jabs of COVID-19 vaccines as of Tuesday, the release said.
Myanmar detected its first two COVID-19 cases on Mar 23 last year.
Nepal
The Nepali government on Thursday encouraged eligible families to apply for cash grants to poor households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in a relief scheme announced earlier.
Under the relief plan included in the budget for the current 2021-22 fiscal year starting in mid-July, the government shall distribute 10,000 Nepali rupees ($84) in one-off subsidy to each eligible family, which is the first time to do so after the coronavirus had battered the country twice since early 2020.
A total of 500,000 families will benefit from the government's scheme at a cost of 5 billion rupees ($42 million).
As per the notice issued by the Ministry of Finance, workers unemployed after losing jobs amid the pandemic, daily wage earners, agricultural laborers, rickshaw pullers, tourism-related porters and families losing sole breadwinners, among others, can apply for the government's support at ward offices within 15 days.
"We want the ward offices to select the eligible poor families based on the criteria of the guidelines," Ritesh Kumar Shakya, spokesperson for the ministry, told Xinhua.
"Once the eligible beneficiaries are selected, local governments will deposit 10,000 Nepali rupees in the account of each beneficiary," he added.
More than 700,000 people alone lost their jobs due to the first wave of COVID-19, according to a study by the National Planning Commission.
People return to shopping at Newmarket in Auckland, New Zealand as some COVID-19 restrictions were eased on Nov 10, 2021. (ALEX BURTON / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP)d via AP)
New Zealand
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday called on political and business leaders to work together to build a strong, equitable and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
She made the remarks when delivering the keynote address to a global business audience at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit.
Acknowledging the scale of the pandemic's impacts, Ardern said "there is now little doubt that staying on top of the virus provides options when it comes to responding to the economic challenges before us."
She outlined several areas where political and business leaders could work together to achieve an economic recovery to weather future economic shocks.
Meanwhile, workplaces and businesses must be inclusive of everyone across the communities, particularly women and indigenous peoples, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic's effects but are an engaged and productive labor force that have much to contribute, she said.
In New Zealand alone, the Māori economy is now worth 70 billion Zealand dollars (49.45 billion US dollars), the prime minister noted.
Ardern also pointed out environmental sustainability as an area for increased political and business cooperation.
The Philippines
The Philippines is banking on its returning citizens and a planned travel bubble with South Korea to revive its pandemic-hit tourism sector, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Thursday, as the Southeast Asian country remains closed to visitors.
It is in talks with its top market South Korea to welcome tourists on board chartered flights, Puyat said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s David Ingles. The two countries are ironing out quarantine requirements for these tourists upon return to South Korea, she said.
The Philippines also plans to further ease quarantine rules for returning citizens who can also help boost domestic travel, Puyat said. Domestic tourism, which has driven the sector even pre-pandemic, has shown signs of revival, with travelers from the capital now visiting tourist spots as movement curbs are eased and vaccines are rolled out, she said.
Lagging its neighbors in easing travel curbs, the Philippines remained at the bottom of Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking last month as infections declined across the region. Thailand and Indonesia have reopened tourist spots to foreign visitors, while Malaysia and Singapore will soon allow quarantine-free entry for the fully-vaccinated.
Singapore
Singapore reported an increase in daily infections. It reported 3,481 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total tally in the country to 227,681.
The Singapore Airshow will go ahead from Feb 15 to 18, a shortened format and without allowing members of the public, the Straits Times reported. Foreign participants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, it said.
Turkey
Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 27,259 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total tally of infections to 8,315,424, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 203 to 72,713, while 27,513 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.
A total of 358,251 tests were conducted over the past day, the ministry said.
Turkey started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.
More than 55.72 million people have received their first doses of vaccines, while over 49.4 million their second doses. Turkey has so far administered over 117.86 million doses including third booster jabs.