Syringes used to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, US, Feb 20, 2021. (CHET STRANGE / BLOOMBERG)
SEOUL / DUBAI / JERUSELAＭ / TOKYO －Indonesia is letting the private sector run their own COVID-19 vaccination program alongside the government’s to accelerate Southeast Asia’s largest inoculation drive.
Private entities must use a different vaccine supply from the government’s stockpile, provide the shots for free and submit data of the recipients to the health ministry, according to regulations issued on Friday. Foreigners and those working for international institutions can get their jabs either from the government or the private sector.
“We believe that this private vaccination program will quicken our goal of achieving herd immunity,” said Arya Sinulingga, a special staff at the state-owned enterprises ministry that will oversee the campaign. The program will be allowed through December 2021.
State-owned PT Bio Farma, which is appointed to import the doses for the private sector’s use, is exploring the possibility of using shots developed by Sinopharm Group Co or Moderna Inc, said Bambang Heriyanto, Bio Farma’s spokesman. The private vaccination program may not use Sinovac Biotech Ltd, AstraZeneca Plc, Pfizer Inc or Novavax Inc doses as the government is procuring its supply from them.
More than 6,600 firms have said they are keen on the program, which is set to need about 7.5 million doses, said State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir. Indonesia aims to vaccinate 70 million people by August, roughly a third of the total target of 181.5 million for the public campaign.
Australia
Australia’s Victoria state will start easing coronavirus restrictions from Friday night, after authorities deemed new locally acquired cases detected for the first time in a week in the state will not pose any public health risk.
Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt has defended the slow start to the country's rollout of coronavirus vaccines.
Australia began administering COVID-19 vaccines on last Sunday, with frontline health workers and aged care residents and staff given priority access.
Under the rollout plan, the government promised that about 60,000 doses would be administered in the first week and that 240 aged care facilities would be vaccinated.
Despite the delay, Hunt said he expected the rollout to be back on track early in March.
Bangladesh
A senior Bangladeshi government official has contracted COVID-19 after receiving the first dose of the Covishield vaccine, manufactured by India, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Bangladeshi Disaster Management and Relief Ministry Secretary Md Mohsin tested positive as he went through some of the major symptoms, Selim Hossain, spokesman of the ministry, told the media on Thursday.
According to the spokesman, Mohsin contracted COVID-19 some 12 days after being vaccinated for the disease.
He is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka, said the spokesman.
Brunei
Brunei's Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Thursday that the temporary suspension of cross-border activities between Brunei and Malaysia will be extended for another two weeks until March 10.
Temporary suspension on the entry of foreign nationals from Malaysia, including transits through Brunei via land and sea ports, is extended by 14 days, until March 10, the PMO was quoted as saying in a statement by the local daily Borneo Bulletin.
"Transit through Brunei Darussalam may only be considered for official government travels, students required to attend school, emergency services (such as ambulances, police and military) and Malaysia-registered Transport Operators with Cross-Country Permits issued by the Brunei government for import deliveries of essential goods to Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia, granted that the travelers attained endorsement from the relevant Malaysian authorities for their travels," the PMO said.
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Cambodia
Cambodia on Friday reported 44 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 741, said the Ministry of Health (MoH).
The new infections included 40 locally transmitted cases in capital Phnom Penh and southwestern Preah Sihanouk province and four imported cases, the statement said, adding that the patients are currently receiving treatment at various designated COVID-19 hospitals.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen earlier this week called on all people involved in the third community outbreak on Feb. 20 to seek COVID-19 tests and to undergo a 14-day quarantine at their houses.
India
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 11,063,491 on Friday as 16,577 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.
According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 156,825 as 120 COVID-19 patients died since Thursday morning.
There are still 155,986 active cases in the country, while 10,750,680 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.
There was a decrease of 4,278 active cases during the previous 24 hours. The number of active cases in India had seen a rise over the past few days.
Indonesia
Indonesia is letting private companies run their own vaccination programs alongside the government’s to accelerate Southeast Asia’s largest inoculation drive. Private entities must use a different vaccine supply from the government’s stockpile, provide the shots for free and submit data of the recipients to the health ministry.
More than 6,600 firms have said they are keen on the private vaccination program, which is set to need about 7.5 million doses, said State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir. Indonesia aims to vaccinate 70 million people by August, roughly a third of the total target of 181.5 million in the public campaign.
Iran
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Iran surpassed 1.6 million on Thursday after 8,206 new infections were confirmed. Meanwhile, Iraq issued new restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said the total number of COVID-19 cases in Iran surged to 1,607,081, while its death toll climbed by 94 to 59,830.
The Iranian police announced on Thursday a travel ban on four provinces and seven cities to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The four provinces include the Khuzestan Province bordering Iraq, and the northern provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan, as well as Teymour Hosseini.
The Iranian authorities have also banned travels to the tourist cities of Mashhad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Kish, and Qeshm to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Also on Thursday, Iranian health officials started vaccinating elderly people, war veterans and nursing home workers against COVID-19.
Iraq
In Iraq, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, also head of the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, ordered several new measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The new instructions included preventing people's movement between provinces except for humanitarian reasons, and banning gatherings and maintaining social distancing.
Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Thursday 4,074 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 684,362.
The ministry also reported 27 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,351. The total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,271 to 627,718.
Sayf al-Badr, spokesman of the ministry, said that "there is a special plane that will fly in the upcoming Saturday to transport the vaccines, and new batches will arrive after that in succession."
The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm and Britain's AstraZeneca vaccines.
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Israel
Israel has now vaccinated half its population against COVID-19, another milestone on the way to subduing the pandemic.
More than 4.6 million people have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, according to Health Ministry data released Friday. With nearly 8 percent of the country having recovered from the disease and likely developing some resistance to reinfection, that could bring Israel closer to herd immunity.
Vaccinating about 60 percent to 70 percent of the population should be enough to rein in infections, illness and death, estimates Raina MacIntyre, a professor of biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, based off the latest data from Israel.
Hospitals have seen a steady drop in critically ill cases over the past few weeks now that more than 90 percent of those in the highest risk groups have been vaccinated or have convalesced from infection.
The rate of overall spread has also slowed after Israel expanded vaccine eligibility to everyone older than 16 earlier this month. Almost 3.3 million people have been given two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot.
In this picture taken on Feb 25, 2021, Pokemon Go video game fans wait for a game's raid to open in the Akihabara neighbourhood in Tokyo. (PHOTO / AFP)
Japan
Japan is set to lift states of emergency in its western regions, public broadcaster NHK reported, underscoring progress against a coronavirus surge that has battered the economy and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s approval rating.
The decision is likely to be announced following a series of consultations on Friday, NHK said, without elaborating on the source of the information. The current state of emergency is in place through March 7 in 10 areas, and would be lifted at the end of the month in five prefectures, including Osaka and Aichi, it said. Measures will stay in place for the Tokyo region, the broadcaster said.
A decision on Fukuoka, on the southwestern island of Kyushu, will be left until the last minute, NHK said. The 10 areas currently under the state of emergency account for about 60% of the economy and an early lifting would free up businesses to operate at greater capacity.
Jordan
Jordan recorded 3,827 new COVID-19 cases and 16 new deaths, taking its tally of infections to 380,268 and its death toll to 4,627. The total recoveries in the kingdom climbed by 1,579 to 342,600.
Lebanon
In Lebanon, the health ministry reported 3,469 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 366,302.
Lebanon's COVID-19 death toll went up by 52 to 4,560, while the total recoveries rose by 3,453 to 281,194, according to the ministry.
Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan vowed on Thursday to request 300,000 more vaccines from AstraZeneca to vaccinate Palestinian refugees. Lebanon aims to vaccinate 80 percent of its population.
Malaysia
Malaysia recorded 1,924 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the lowest count since Jan. 4, according to data from the Health Ministry. There were 12 deaths while recoveries totaled 3,752.
Maldives
The Maldives has received a set of cold chain and laboratory supplies from the World Health Organization (WHO) in order to strengthen its response against the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported here Friday.
WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh handed over the supplies to Minister of Health of the Maldives Ahmed Naseem during a virtual ceremony on Thursday.
"With WHO's contributions, the Maldives has made significant progress in its healthcare and development indicators over the past decades," Naseem said.
Middle East
A US Navy warship operating in the Middle East has a dozen cases of the novel coronavirus, while another warship in the region is investigating whether some of its members are also infected.
The USS San Diego which has the confirmed cases is at port in Bahrain. It sails with about 600 sailors and Marines aboard.
The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, which carries some 380 sailors, is expected to pull into port for further testing. The port was not disclosed.
Myanmar
Myanmar reported 25 new COVID-19 infections and one more death in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports on Thursday.
The number of COVID-19 positive cases increased to 141,841 and the death toll reached 3,198.
A total of 131,417 recovered patients have been discharged from hospitals so far.
The number of samples tested for COVID-19 was recorded at 1,314 on Thursday, down from around 10,000 samples tested daily in the first week of this month.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported two border cases of COVID-19 and one new community case on Friday.
The community case was a person linked to the Auckland February cases and who has been in quarantine from Feb. 23, according to the Ministry of Health.
The two imported cases came from the Philippines and Britain, and have remained in managed isolation facilities in Auckland, said a ministry statement.
Oman
The Omani health ministry confirmed 288 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 140,588.
The tally of recoveries in Oman increased by 299 to 131,684, while its death toll climbed by four to 1,562, according to a ministry statement.
Ｑatar
The Qatari health ministry on Thursday announced 465 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 162,268.
Qatar's total recoveries rose by 540 to 152,327, while the fatalities remained unchanged at 257 for the fourth day running.
Singapore
A Singapore court sentenced a British man to two weeks in jail on Friday after he sneaked out of his hotel room to meet his then fiancée while undergoing two weeks of mandatory coronavirus quarantine in the city-state.Nigel Skea, 52, was also fined S$1,000 (US$752.56) for leaving his room three times on Sept. 21 last year, judge Jasvender Kaur said.
Singapore won’t move out of the final phase of reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic “anytime soon,” even as the city-state has started vaccinations, CNA reports Thursday, citing Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary.
“Phase 3 is a new normal which will last until such time when there is evidence on vaccine effectiveness in preventing future outbreaks, a substantial proportion of the population is vaccinated, and the rest of the world also has the virus under control,” the minister said in parliament.
Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 59,900.
A medical staff, right, checks a nursing home worker after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a health care center in Seoul Feb 26, 2021. (PHOTO / AP)
South Korea
South Korea on Friday began utilizing AstraZeneca vaccines to inoculate patients and workers at nursing homes and related facilities who are younger than 65.
The free vaccination campaign began at 9:00 a.m. local time across the country. On the first day, 5,266 patients and health workers in 213 nursing facilities are scheduled to be inoculated, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Separately, 292 nursing hospitals started administering vaccines according to their own schemes of inoculation that is slated to be completed in five days.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun says the nation will extend the current social distancing rules for another 2 weeks, and will also maintain current ban of gatherings of 5 or more people.
South Korea reported 406 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, versus 396 the previous day, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s website.
The number of newly confirmed cases remained below 500 for a 7th day, while the total number of confirmed cases reached 88,922, the data showed.
Syria
In Syria, Health Minister Hasan Ghabbash said on Thursday that Syria will start giving COVID-19 vaccines to its medical staff from next week.
At a press conference, the minister said Syria had obtained the vaccines from a "friendly country," without naming it. The next stage will be vaccinating the people aged over 55, mainly those with chronic diseases.
On Wednesday, Syria reported a total of 15,343 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 9,468 recoveries and 1,008 deaths.
Thailand
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha will be the first person to receive the nation’s COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 28, kicking off the inoculation program, which will begin on March 1 for the public, according to Sophon Mekthon, chairman of the government’s COVID-19 vaccine management committee.
Prayuth is expected to receive a vaccine from AstraZeneca Plc, and Anutin to receive one from Sinovac Biotech Ltd.
The Philippines
The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Friday 2,651 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since Oct. 17 last year, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 571,327.
The death toll climbed to 12,247 after 46 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. Meanwhile, 561 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 524,582.
The Philippines, with a population of about 110 million, has tested over 8 million people since the disease emerged in January last year.
The UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed 3,025 new coronavirus infections and 18 more deaths, pushing its tally of COVID-19 cases to 381,662 and its death toll to 1,182. The total recoveries in the UAE climbed by 4,678 to 375,059.
Turkey
Turkey announced 9,572 new COVID-19 cases, including 658 symptomatic patients, and 73 more deaths from the disease, pushing its tally of infections to 2,674,766 and its death toll to 28,358.
A total of 6.65 million people in Turkey have so far received the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, including 1.44 million who have received two shots, according to the Turkish Health Ministry.
Israeli Ministry of Health reported 4,725 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the tally in the country to 767,233.
The death toll from the COVID-19 in Israel reached 5,685 after 36 new fatalities were added, while the total recoveries rose by 6,421 to 721,957.
Vietnam
Vietnam expects to receive 9.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the second quarter after 1.3 million in the first three months of this year, according to a posting on the government website, citing Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long. The country will receive 77 million vaccine doses in the second half of the year.