People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk near a landmark lion statue of a department store that also wears a mask in the Ginza shipping area of Tokyo on July 28, 2022. (SHUJI KAJIYAMA / AP)
TOKYO / YANGON / SINGAPORE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Japan's health ministry granted emergency approval to Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co's COVID-19 drug on Tuesday, making it the first domestically developed oral medicine against the virus.
The oral drug, Xocova, for coronavirus patients with mild symptoms, was given fast-track approval in Japan by a health ministry panel. The move comes as the country has recently seen a rebound in the number of daily coronavirus cases.
"I expect it will contribute to coronavirus measures as another choice of treatment," Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters.
Regulators had previously denied emergency approval for the Shionogi pill, saying they wanted to see more data on its effectiveness. There were also concerns the drug could pose risk to pregnancies, based on results from animal studies.
The company has signed an agreement to sell about a million doses to the government, pending the drug's approval.
Two other oral medications for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, both developed by foreign pharmaceutical firms, have already been authorized for use in Japan.
Japan reported 121,460 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, up 79,036 from the figure of the previous day, with Hokkaido posting 11,394 new cases, a record-high daily figure for the northernmost Japan prefecture.
Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in an effort to counter the spread of the COVID-19 in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on March 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)
Brunei
Brunei logged a daily average of 649 new COVID-19 cases in the past week compared to 611 cases per day the week before, an increase of eight consecutive weeks, official statistics showed.
According to Brunei's health ministry on Tuesday, currently, three hospitalized cases are held in the intensive care unit and two cases require oxygen assistance.
The health ministry said that Brunei received 7,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine (Spikevax Bivalent Original/Omicron) on Sunday and the next supply is expected to arrive on Nov 25 and Nov 27.
"This bivalent vaccine will be used for a booster dose for adults aged 18 years old and above and has already been authorized by the Brunei Darussalam Medicines Control for its use in this country," the health ministry said.
As of Monday, 78.8 percent of Brunei's population have received three doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 11.1 percent have taken the fourth dose.
A heath worker receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Ayeyarwaddy COVID treatment center, Jan 27, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar. (THEIN ZAW / AP)
Myanmar
Myanmar confirmed 30 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total tally to 633,075, the country's Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement that the death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,487 on Tuesday 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 2,388 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 2,157,021.
A total of 167 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with eight of them in intensive care units, according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.
One new death from COVID-19 was reported on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 1,701.