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)
SYDNEY / HANOI / SINGAPORE / MANILA / YANGON – Australia will end the mandatory five-day home quarantine for COVID-infected people on Oct 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday, even as some doctors warned the move would put the public at risk.
The decision to let COVID-infected Australians decide whether they need to isolate or not removes one of country's last remaining restrictions from the pandemic era, and comes about a month after the quarantine period was cut to five days from seven.
"We want a policy that promotes resilience and capacity-building and reduces a reliance on government intervention," Albanese told reporters after a meeting of the national cabinet.
The pandemic leave payments for casual workers will also stop when isolation rules end, as Albanese said "it isn't sustainable for government to pay people's wages forever."
"The crucial point is that the emergency response phase is probably finished at this point in the pandemic," Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said. "This virus will be around for many years but it's time to consider … different ways of dealing with it."
But Australian doctors warned that ending the mandatory quarantine rules puts the public at risk.
Professor Brendan Crabb, a microbiologist and chief executive of the Burnet Institute, told ABC: "It's disappointing, pretty dark day actually. You know, it's illogical and uninformed, for me I find it distressing."
Australian Medical Association President, Steve Robson, concurred.
"I think people who are pushing for the isolation periods to be cut are not scientifically literate," Robson told ABC television ahead of the government decision.
Australia, one of the most heavily vaccinated countries against COVID-19, has given two doses to 96.5 percent of those older than 16, although just under 72 percent have had the booster shot.
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Myanmar
Myanmar confirmed 473 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 623,639, according to the Ministry of Health on Saturday.
It said that the health authorities tested 13,405 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 3.53 percent.
The death toll from COVID-19 in the country reached 19,461 on Saturday after two new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
Philippines
The Philippines reported 3,822 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,951,766.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 29,525, while 34 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 62,981.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 1,692 new cases.
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 3,510 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 1,911,417.
Of the new cases, 321 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 3,189 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 302 were local transmissions and 19 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 3,061 local transmissions and 128 imported cases, respectively.
One more death was reported from COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total death toll to 1,619, the ministry said.
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 672 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, according to its ministry of health.
Among the new cases, one was imported and the rest were all locally transmitted, said the ministry.
The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,480,028. The country reported a new death from the pandemic in the southern Tay Ninh province on Saturday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,149.