A young girl receives a shot of the Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine at a Krang Thnong health center outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov 1, 2021. (HENG SINITH /AP)
NEW DELHI / KUALA LUMPUR / WELLINGTON / ISLAMABAD / MANILA / PHNOM PENH -Cambodian Ministry of Health's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine has called on the public to continue to exercise caution as the Southeast Asian nation has seen a spike in new COVID-19 cases.
Forty-seven new cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the country on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 136,753, with 133,495 recoveries and 3,056 deaths, the Ministry of Health said
Forty-seven new cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the country on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 136,753, with 133,495 recoveries and 3,056 deaths, the MoH said.
No new deaths have been reported from the pandemic since April, the ministry added.
Vandine urged people to strictly follow health protocols, including wearing a face mask, washing hands regularly and maintaining physical distancing, and to get their booster doses in order to prevent a big surge in new cases.
"Complacency is a window of opportunity for COVID-19 virus to circulate in the community," she wrote on social media.
"To sustain a new normal, everyone must continue to implement public health measures and to get vaccines as soon as possible when your turn comes," she added.
Buoyed by its high vaccination rates, Cambodia has resumed all socioeconomic activities and reopened its borders to travelers without quarantine since November last year.
Some 15.1 million people, or 94.4 percent of Cambodia's 16 million population, have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the MoH said, adding that 14.4 million, or 90 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated with two required shots.
Some 9.74 million Cambodians, or 61 percent of the population, have received a third dose, about 3.5 million, or 22 percent of the population, have received a fourth dose, and 473,845, or 3 percent of the population, have received a fifth dose.
A health worker administers Covishield vaccine for COVID-19 at a vaccination center in Hyderabad, India on July 15, 2022. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP)
India
After three straight days of reporting over 20,000 new cases a day, India's daily caseload Sunday came down to 19,673, officials said.
According to federal health ministry data released on Sunday morning, 19,673 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,019,811 in the country.
According to federal health ministry data released on Sunday morning, 19,673 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,019,811 in the country
With the reporting of fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 143,676.
The country also logged 45 related deaths during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 526,357 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.
ALSO READ: COVID-19: DPRK reports no new fever cases for first time
With the increase in cases, the daily positivity rate stands at 4.96 percent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.88 percent, the ministry data showed.
The ministry said so far 43,349,778 people have been successfully cured and discharged from hospitals, of whom 19,336 were discharged during the past 24 hours.
According to the federal health ministry, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country has exceeded 2 billion doses, and until Sunday morning 2,042,569,509 doses were administered.
So far over 875 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country.
A cumulative total of 875,207,621 samples have been tested up to July 30, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said Sunday. Out of these, 396,424 tests were conducted on Saturday alone.
Recently, the Indian government estimated that 40 million eligible beneficiaries in the country have not taken even a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
ALSO READ: Japan life expectancy falls for 1st time in decade due to COVID-19
At present, the government is focussing on promoting booster doses as the uptake for the third dose has been low. According to officials, the exercise is aimed at improving the booster dose coverage among the people in wake of the detection of new variants.
No new variant of concern of COVID-19 has been detected in the country since Omicron in the first week of December 2021, the government said on Friday, adding, however, various Omicron sub-lineages are circulating across all states with the clinical presentation remaining largely the same.
The government also stated COVID-19 infections among children and adolescents typically cause less severe illness as compared to adults, according to the WHO.
Last week, the federal government in the Indian parliament said given the emergence of COVID-19 variants with variable transmissibility and other public health implications, the health ministry was closely following the COVID-19 trajectory globally and in the country.
Local governments in various states have issued advisories urging people to wear face masks and follow COVID-19 protocols in mass gatherings in the wake of an increase in daily infections.
A nurse administers a Pfizer vaccine to an elderly woman in her house in rural Sabab Bernam, central Selangor state, Malaysia, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (VINCENT THIAN / AP)
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 4,271 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Saturday, bringing the national total to 4,677,270, according to the health ministry.
There are three new imported cases, with 4,268 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.
Another four deaths were reported, pushing the death toll to 35,960.
The ministry reported 5,553 new recoveries, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 4,594,296.
There are 47,014 active cases, with 62 being held in intensive care and 34 of those in need of assisted breathing.
A man looks out a window while in quarantine at the Ramada Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, March 30, 2020. (BRETT PHIBBS / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP)
New Zealand
New Zealand reported 4,238 new community cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers of COVID-19 in New Zealand now sits at 7,183. The Ministry also reported 806 current hospitalizations including 12 cases in ICU or HDU on Sunday.
In addition, there were 226 new cases of COVID-19 that have recently traveled overseas, according to the Ministry.
Pakistan
Pakistan reported 661 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the country's ministry of health said on Sunday.
The overall tally of the infected people climbed to 1,554,591 across the country with the fresh cases, according to the data released by the ministry.
A total of 30,487 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with one death over the last 24 hours, according to the ministry's statistics.
On Saturday, 20,080 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 3.29 percent.
There are 171 patients who are in critical condition.
Philippines
The Philippines reported 3,996 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,772,468.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 33,509. One more patient died from COVID-19 complications, taking the coronavirus death toll to 60,719.
The DOH has categorized the current COVID-19 situation in the country as low risk despite a surge in new cases.