Indonesia sees rise in cases of Omicron subvariants

Travelers are processed at the international arrivals hall at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban near Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Feb 16, 2022, after a Singapore Airlines flight arrived following a nearly two-year break due to COVID-19. (SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP)

DHAKA / HANOI / JAKARTA / SINGAPORE / YANGON – Indonesia has seen an increase in the number of newly-confirmed COVID-19 infections in the past weeks after the emergence of the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 in the country.

The Southeast Asian nation initially detected its first cases of the two sublineages on June 10 with more than 1,000 daily cases having been recorded in the past two weeks.

On Wednesday, health authorities confirmed 2,149 new cases with more than 16,000 active cases in the past 24 hours. Active cases mean those people are still considered to be infectious.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin recently forecasted that peak cases of Omicron sublineages BA.4 and BA.5 in the country would take place in the second to the third week of July/.

He made the prediction after observing South Africa, which first spotted the emergence of the sublineages.

According to Sadikin, the expected peak of the two sub-variants in Indonesia could reach at least 17,400 daily new cases, about 30 percent of the peak daily cases of the primary Omicron variant in February.

BA.4 and BA.5 are more transmissible, but they do not cause higher rates of hospitalization and fatality. The death toll from the coronavirus in Indonesia rose by three to 156,728 on Wednesday, while 1,282 more people recovered during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 5.91 million, according to the ministry's data.

Minister Sadikin also highlighted that the expected peak of BA.4 and BA.5 would not be likened to the Delta wave phenomenon that devastated Indonesia in July last year with the peak recorded at 51,952 daily cases.

The minister went on to say that the government has not made any changes in the travel rules following the emergence of the sub-variants. The COVID-19 booster shots are still required for domestic travelers.

The ministry, he said, continues to impose existing health protocol standards on the public, accelerate booster vaccinations and conduct its third national serological survey to find out the percentage of people with COVID-19 antibodies.

Garment workers wait in a queue to receive a dose of the Moderna vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Konabari, Bangladesh about 40 km from Dhaka on Jul 18, 2021. (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has decided to start administering COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 5-12 amid a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases.

Bangladeshi Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the initiative will start next month.

"We'll start the vaccination program in the last week of July," he said at a news conference.

"We'll soon procure vaccines and syringes suitable for children," Maleque said.

In order to receive vaccination, children aged 5-12 will have to register using their birth certificate on the government's (Surokkha) app.

Bangladesh's Cabinet Division on Tuesday issued a circular with the six-point directives to contain the fresh outbreak of the pandemic.

In line with the directives, people must wear masks at all gatherings, shopping malls and restaurants under the "No mask, no service" policy.

Those who bear any symptoms are encouraged to get themselves tested for COVID-19.

The directives are aimed at limiting the fresh spread of the new wave of COVID-19 as Bangladesh is again seeing a surge in fresh cases after a respite of several months.

Bangladesh reported three fresh deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest number of daily deaths confirmed in about three months.

Meanwhile, the country reported over 2,000 COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day with the daily test positivity rate jumping to 15.47 percent in the 24 hours till 8:00 am local time Tuesday.

A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Myanmar

Myanmar confirmed six new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally in the country to 613,583, the country's Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

The ministry said the death toll from COVID-19 in the country stood at 19,434 on Wednesday as no new deaths were reported.

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 9,392 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total tally to 1,434,563.

Of the new cases, 749 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 8,643 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR cases, 714 were local transmissions and 35 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 8,075 local transmissions and 568 imported cases, respectively.

A total of 455 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with seven cases in intensive care units.

One death was reported from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 1,411, 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 777 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, up by eight from Tuesday, according to its Ministry of Health.

The infections brought the total tally to 10,745,631 with 43,087 deaths. Nearly 231.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, including over 205.4 million shots on people aged 18 and above, said the ministry.