Former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo attends the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2019 in Boao, south China's Hainan province on March 26, 2019. (STR / AFP)
MANILA / SINGAPORE / HANOI / WELLINGTON – Former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has tested positive for COVID-19, her chief of staff Erwin Krishna Santos said on Sunday.
Santos said Arroyo, currently a member of the House of Representatives, tested positive in an antigen test on July 15 and "immediately underwent self-quarantine."
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Santos added an RT-PCR test conducted Saturday showed that the 75-year-old politician is still COVID-19 positive.
"Therefore, the former head of state will not attend the first State of the Nation address of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on Monday," Santo said.
New Zealand
New Zealand recorded 6,910 new community cases of COVID-19 and 16 more deaths from the pandemic, the Ministry of Health said on Monday.
It said 387 COVID-19 cases have recently traveled overseas.
Currently, 836 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 27 in intensive care units or high dependency units.
New Zealand has reported 1,559,072 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020, with a total number of publicly reported deaths with COVID-19 reaching 2,006 in the country.
New Zealand is currently under the orange settings of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, where there is no limit for gatherings.
This photo shows a COVID-19 vaccination notice for senior citizens in Chinatown area of Singapore on Aug 3, 2021. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
Singapore
Singapore reported 6,175 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total tally to 1,659,156.
Of the new cases, 666 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 5,509 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 633 were local transmissions and 33 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 5,317 local transmissions and 192 imported cases.
A total of 738 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 21 cases in intensive care units.
Four more deaths were reported from the pandemic on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 1,476, the ministry said.
A health worker takes swab samples of a security officer for COVID-19 testing at the venue of Vietnam's Communist Party congress in Hanoi, Vietnam, Jan 29, 2021. (HAU DINH / AP)
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 748 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, down by 324 from Saturday, according to its Ministry of Health.
The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 10,767,948. The country reported no new deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,092.
As of Sunday, 29 severe cases were in need of assisted breathing in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry.
Nationwide, 9,861,276 COVID-19 patients, or nearly 92 percent of the total infections, have recovered.
More than 242.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, including over 211.1 million shots on people aged 18 and above, said the ministry.