Students wait for their turn to receive their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Sydney on Aug 9, 2021. (DEAN LEWINS / POOL / AFP)
SYDNEY / CANBERRA / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR / SINGAPORE / NEW DELHI – Australia has reported an increase in its weekly number of coronavirus cases.
In its weekly update of COVID-19 data, the Department of Health on Friday reported there were an average of 5,300 new cases recorded every day nationally over the last week.
It represents an increase from 4,891 cases per day on average in the previous week ending on Oct 28.
"Over the last week, 37,097 cases of COVID-19 were reported across Australia," the department said in a statement.
In New South Wales and Victoria, Australia's two most populous states accounting for more than half the population, the average daily cases increased by more than 20 percent.
The new data comes as authorities warn Australia is facing another wave of COVID-19 infections within weeks.
Kerry Chant, chief health officer of New South Wales, said on Thursday that Omicron sub-variants BQ.1 and XBB could soon surpass BA.5 as the dominant variant in Australia.
"By looking at all the local information we have, and what's happening overseas, we believe COVID cases will rise in the coming weeks," she said.
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP)
Separately, two complementary nationwide surveys showed at least two-thirds of Australians have been infected by COVID-19, including children and adolescents.
The national paediatric serosurvey, led by the Paediatric Active Enhanced Diseases Surveillance (PAEDS) network and the National Center for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), tested two types of antibodies in the blood samples of children aged 0-19, collected between June and August 2022.
The first type, antibody to the nucleocapsid protein of the virus, indicates past infections while the other type, antibody to spike protein, indicates past infection and/or vaccination.
The study found that about 79 percent of unvaccinated children aged from one to four have been infected with the virus, while 67 percent of children aged from five to 11, many of whom have been vaccinated, have the past infection.
Among the adolescents aged from 12 to 19, about 70 percent have been infected by the virus.
"Overall, this study tells us that at least two-thirds of children in Australia have had COVID-19. This is more than double the number of cases reported based on nose and throat swab testing for the virus," said Archana Koirala, infectious disease specialist at NCIRS.
Another adult survey, jointly conducted by the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and NCIRS, was based on 5,005 de-identified residual blood donation specimens received between Aug 23 and Sept 2 this year.
It shows that at least 65 percent of adults had antibodies indicating previous COVID-19 infection, a rise of about 20 percent compared to a previous serosurvey study three months earlier.
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India
India's daily COVID-19 caseload decreased to 1,216, taking the total tally to 44,658,365 in the South Asian country, according to federal health ministry data released on Friday morning.
With the reporting of fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 15,705.
The country also logged 18 related deaths during the past 24 hours, taking the COVID-19 death toll to 530,479 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.
People walk with their luggage towards Malaysia, as seen from Sungai Kolok district in southern Thailand's Narathiwat province on June 1, 2022, after Malaysia and Thailand re-opened their land borders following the loosening of restrictions related to the coronavirus. (MADAREE TOHLALA / AFP)
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 4,711 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Thursday, bringing the national total to 4,914,557, according to the health ministry.
There are seven new imported cases, with 4,704 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.
No new deaths have been reported, leaving the death toll at 36,480.
A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 3,511 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 2,115,621.
Of the new cases, 357 were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 3,154 through ARTs (antigen rapid test), according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 342 were local transmissions and 15 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 2,923 local transmissions and 231 imported cases.
One new death from COVID-19 was reported on Thursday, taking the total death toll to 1,683.
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People wearing face masks cross a road in the rain near a subway station in Seoul, South Korea on July 13, 2022. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)
South Korea
South Korea reported 43,449 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Thursday compared to 24 hours ago, taking the total number of infections to 25,760,701, the health authorities said Friday.
The daily caseload was down from 46,896 in the previous day, but it was higher than 35,913 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Among the newly reported infections, 49 were imported cases, lifting the total to 69,944.
Thirty-five more deaths were confirmed from the pandemic, bringing the death toll to 29,315.