A person wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stands in front of a public awareness notice for COVID-19 protection in Shinjuku district on July 14, 2022, in Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP)
JERUSALEM / YANGON / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA – Japan is considering ending its pre-arrival COVID-19 testing for inbound travellers who are already vaccinated, Nikkei reported late on Monday.
The current rule requires travellers to show a negative test result within 72 hours of their departure, according to the report.
Brunei
Brunei logged a daily average of 283 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
According to the ministry's weekly briefing, 59,328 Antigen Rapid Test results were uploaded to the government platform within one week, with 3.3 percent of them being positive. This means that the average number of daily cases has decreased by 83.6 percent from the peak of the fourth wave of the pandemic in the middle of July last year.
Currently, one hospitalized case is held in intensive care unit and three cases require assisted breathing, according to the ministry.
As of Aug 21, 76.6 percent of Brunei's population have received three doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 9.0 percent have taken the fourth dose.
Passengers walk with their luggage upon their arrival at Ben Gurion Airport near Lod on Nov 1, 2021, as Israel reopens to tourists vaccinated against COVID-19. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)
Israel
Israel's Health Ministry announced on Monday free and voluntary COVID-19 PCR tests will be offered to inbound passengers at Ben Gurion International Airport beginning Wednesday.
"There is a real likelihood of another COVID-19 morbidity wave in the winter, combined with a flu outbreak," the ministry explained.
"PCR tests, unlike antigen ones, allow the detection of variants and are therefore recommended for arriving passengers," it added.
Passengers will receive a text message encouraging them to take the PCR test upon landing at the airport, according to the ministry.
Israel cancelled mandatory PCR tests for arriving passengers at its main Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv on May 20, citing a decline in COVID-19 infections.
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Myanmar
Myanmar confirmed 42 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 614,696, according to the Ministry of Health on Monday.
The ministry said in a statement that these cases included 14 infected people who returned from abroad.
The statement added that the health authorities tested 8,186 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.51 percent.
The death toll from COVID-19 remained unchanged at 19,437 as no new deaths were confirmed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
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 reported 3,077 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,858,838.
The Department of Health said the number of active cases dropped to 33,774, while 29 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, taking the coronavirus death toll to 61,386.
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 1,694 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 1,818,560.
Of the new cases, 221 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 1,473 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 210 were local transmissions and 11 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 1,392 local transmissions and 81 imported cases, respectively.
Four more deaths were reported from COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 1,584, 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 2,197 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up by 636 from Sunday, according to its Ministry of Health.
All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the health ministry.
The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,386,016. The country reported a new death from the pandemic in the northern Quang Ninh province on Monday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,106.