A girl walks past a poster at a vaccination centre in New Delhi on April 10, 2022, after government announced the paid precaution dose against the coronavirus to be available for everyone above 18 years of age at private vaccination centers. (MONEY SHARMA / AFP)
HANOI / MANILA / NEW DELHI / SINGAPORE / BAKU – The government of India's northeastern state of Manipur on Tuesday decided to extend the summer vacations for students by a week amid rising COVID-19 cases.
The schools were scheduled to reopen on Saturday after the summer vacations, but now they will be reopened on July 24, said an official order issued by the state government.
"Children below 12 years of age are yet to be vaccinated, thus increasing their vulnerability to get infected by COVID-19 significantly," said the state government's order.
A total of 45 people reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 during the last 24 hours in Manipur. The cases were detected among the 290 samples tested for the virus, with a positive rate of 15.5 percent.
There are around 172 active cases in the state, showed the health ministry's data.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan on Tuesday reported 63 new COVID-19 cases, taking its total to 793,827, according to the country's task force under the Cabinet of Ministers on COVID-19 prevention and control.
Data from the task force showed that 41 more patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 783,703.
No related deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.
A child receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 as a performer dressed as superhero character Spider-Man looks on at a gym in San Juan City, suburban Manila on Feb 7, 2022. (TED ALJIBE / AFP)
Philippines
The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,363 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,721,413.
The number of active cases has climbed to 14,464, the highest since April 23. The death toll remained unchanged at 60,640 as no death was reported Tuesday.
"Most areas show a sharp increase in cases, with Metro Manila showing the steepest increase, now exceeding 650 cases per day," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online briefing.
The country averaged over 1,500 cases, or 41 percent higher than the previous week and almost the same level recorded in the last week of February, she added.
Singapore Airlines stewardesses walk past a giant lollipop candy display at Changi International Airport in Singapore on April 1, 2022, as Singapore reopened its land and air borders to travelers fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. (ROSLOAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 5,979 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 1,540,788.
Of the new cases, 5,743 were local transmissions and 236 were imported cases. Among the local cases, 508 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 5,235 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Five deaths were reported due to COVID-19 infection, pushing the death toll to 1,437, the ministry said.
A man passes walks past a billboard on the coronavirus in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 4, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 873 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up 305 from Monday, according to the Ministry of Health.
The infections brought the total tally to 10,756,254. The country also reported one death from the disease in the northern Quang Ninh province, bringing the total fatalities to 43,090.
More than 236.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, including nearly 208 million shots on people aged 18 and above, said the ministry.
Vietnam has already recorded COVID-19 infections with Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants and is accelerating the inoculation of the fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose among its citizens.