A graffiti artist looks at a mural based on COVID-19 coronavirus safety protocols on the walls of an underpass during an ongoing weekend curfew imposed in New Delhi on Jan 16, 2022 to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
(SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP)
SEOUL / NEW DELHI / SINGAPORE – The government of India's Delhi announced on Friday that all curbs related to COVID-19 will be ended.
The decision has been taken by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority following a decline in COVID-19 cases.
"DDMA withdraws all restrictions as the situation improves and people are facing hardships due to loss of jobs," Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote on social media. "Schools to function fully offline from April 1."
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has also decided to reduce the fine for not wearing masks
The DDMA has also decided to reduce the fine for not wearing masks.
"Fines for not wearing masks reduced to INR 500 ($6.64)," Kejriwal said. "All should continue following COVID-19 appropriate behavior. Government will keep a strict watch."
The night curfew in Delhi will reportedly end from Monday.
With night curfew gone and curbs relaxed, shops, restaurants and business establishments can remain open until late at night.
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Following a decrease in cases, India's federal government had asked states to consider relaxing COVID-19 curbs for social, sports, entertainment, academic and religious events as well as night curfew hours as per the situation in their areas.
Singapore
Singapore reported 18,597 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total tally to 679,795.
Of the new cases, 3,186 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 15,411 through ARTs (antigen rapid tests), according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 3,070 were local transmissions and 116 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 15,313 local transmissions and 98 imported cases.
A total of 1,584 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 46 cases in intensive care units.
Eleven more patients have died from complications of the COVID-19 infection, bringing the death toll to 986, the ministry said.
South Korea
South Korea reported 166,209 more COVID-19 cases as of midnight Friday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 2,831,283, the health authorities said Saturday.
The daily caseload was slightly up from 165,890 in the previous day, staying below 170,000 for two days, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The recent resurgence was driven by infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the Omicron variant spread.
Of the new cases, 36,773 were Seoul residents. The number of newly infected people living in Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon was 48,147 and 12,113 respectively.
The virus spread also raged in the non-metropolitan region. The number of new infections in the non-capital areas was 69,035, or 41.6 percent of the total local transmission.
Among the new cases, 141 were imported from overseas, lifting the total to 29,006.
The number of infected people who were in a serious condition stood at 643, down 12 from the previous day.
A total of 112 more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 7,895. The total fatality rate was 0.28 percent.
The country has administered COVID-19 vaccines to 44,846,725 people, or 87.4 percent of the total population, and the number of fully inoculated people was 44,349,600, or 86.4 percent of the population.
The number of those who received booster jabs was 31,228,461, or 60.9 percent of the population.