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)
TOKYO / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / MANILA / HANOI / YEREVAN / KUALA LUMPUR / SEOUL / NEW DELHI / CANBERRA – Australia's Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Pual Kelly has said the country is in the midst of another wave of coronavirus infections.
Paul Kelly on Tuesday urged Australians to take additional precautions against COVID-19 infection, including wearing masks, staying at home if experiencing symptoms and staying up to date on vaccinations.
In a statement, the CMO said the government was closely monitoring the spread of omicron variants XBB and BQ.1 in Australia.
In the week to Nov 4 Australia recorded an average of 5,300 new COVID-19 cases every day, representing an average increase from 4,891 cases per day in the previous week ending on Oct 28.
"All indications are that this is the start of a new COVID-19 wave in Australia. This was to be expected and will be part of living with COVID-19 into the future," Kelly said in a media release.
"The overseas experience is that these new variants have driven increases in case numbers, and hospitalization at a rate proportionate to these increases, because of their ability to evade the immunity provided by prior infection and vaccination," he added.
ALSO READ: Australian COVID-19 cases rise, authorities warn of new wave
Armenia
Armenia reported 155 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, taking its total to 445,397, the Ministry of Healthcare said on Monday.
Data from the ministry showed that 153 more patients recovered in the past week, taking the total number of recoveries to 434,441.
During the period, no death case was registered. The death toll stood at 8,709 as of Monday.
Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in an effort to counter the spread of the COVID-19 in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on March 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)
Brunei
Brunei logged a daily average of 554 new COVID-19 cases in the past week compared to 485 cases per day the week before, an increase for six consecutive weeks, showed official statistics released on Monday.
According to the health ministry's weekly briefing, 39,588 antigen rapid test (ART) test results were uploaded to the government platform within one week, with 9.7 percent of them being positive.
Currently, no hospitalized cases are held in the intensive care unit and only one case requires oxygen assistance, the health ministry said.
India
No new COVID-19-related death has been reported from across the country, India's federal health ministry said on Tuesday.
This is the first time since March 2020 that no death related to the pandemic was reported from across the country in the span of 24 hours.
According to the health ministry, the overall death toll remains 530,509 since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to federal health ministry data released on Tuesday morning, 625 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, taking the total tally to 44,662,141 in the country.
ALSO READ: India's daily COVID-19 caseload falls below 1,000
A person wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stands in front of a public awareness notice for COVID-19 protection in Shinjuku district on July 14, 2022, in Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP)
Japan
An advisory panel for the finance minister on Monday proposed that the Japanese government end free-of-charge coronavirus vaccinations, highlighting concerns over a further increase of its financial strain.
Japan's Ministry of Finance convened a subcommittee meeting on Monday and asked a panel of experts to start discussing possible charges for the COVID-19 shots, like the ones for seasonal influenza and other infectious diseases.
The finance ministry said the free inoculations have put a huge financial burden on the central government, and citizens should shoulder part of the costs for future shots.
According to the ministry, the Japanese government has spent about 17 trillion yen ($116 billion) to aid medical services in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, with expenditures including the securing of hospital beds and facilitating the supply of free vaccines.
In fiscal 2021, which ended March this year, Japan has spent 2.34 trillion yen procuring vaccines for medical facilities, with each shot costing around 9,600 yen, compared with 5,000 yen for a flu shot, it added.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference the same day that ending the free rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is something to be considered in the future and that it does not contradict with the government's current vaccination program.
The finance ministry also said COVID-19 antigen testing kits that the government has purchased for distribution free of charge should now be supplied by the private sector.
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 2,521 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Monday, bringing the national total to 4,929,972, according to the Health Ministry.
There are two new imported cases, with 2,519 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.
Eight new deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,495.
Pakistan
Pakistan reported 25 new COVID-19 cases, the country's ministry of health said on Tuesday.
The overall tally of infected people climbed to 1,574,432 across the country after adding the fresh cases, according to the data released by the ministry.
A total of 30,627 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with no more deaths reported on Monday, according to the ministry's statistics.
A man shops for face masks in Divisoria, a local shopping district in Manila on May 17, 2022. (JAM STA ROSA / AFP)
Philippines
The Philippines reported 1,553 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 4,011,026.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 16,754, while 17 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the death toll to 64,291.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 342 new cases.
ALSO READ: Detection of new COVID sub-variants in India raises concern
South Korea
South Korea reported 62,273 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 25,919,183, the health authorities said Tuesday.
The daily caseload was up from 18,671 in the previous day and higher than 58,363 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
For the past week, the average number of daily new cases was 43,370, among which 52 were imported from overseas, lifting the total to 70,179.
Thirty more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 29,420.
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 365 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up by 124 from Sunday, according to its ministry of health.
All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.
The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,506,214. The country reported no new deaths from the pandemic on Monday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,166.