People wearing face masks cross a road in the rain near a subway station in Seoul, South Korea on July 13, 2022. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)
SEOUL / HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE / YANGON / KUALA LUMPUR / WELLINGTON – South Korea will end the pre-departure COVID-19 test rule for travelers to the country starting on Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.
South Korea lifted most of its pandemic-related restrictions in May, but has maintained some of the strictest border measures among major economies, requiring inbound travelers to present a negative coronavirus test result taken before departure.
Daily COVID-19 infections in the country have been hovering around 100,000 in recent weeks after reaching more than 180,000 in mid-August.
Malaysia former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad waves after a press conference at his office of Perdana Foundation in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on May 18, 2020. (VINCENT THIAN / AP)
Malaysia
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been hospitalized for observation, his office said on Wednesday.
The nonagenarian, who served for more than two decades as prime minister, has a history of heart problems. He has had heart attacks and bypass surgeries.
"Mahathir has been admitted to the National Heart Institute for observation for the next few days as advised by the medical team," his office said in a statement, without giving details of his symptoms or condition.
Mahathir has received at least three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with the last known shot in November 2021, according to earlier comments made by him and Malaysian government officials.
Mahathir underwent an elective medical procedure in January and was re-admitted to the hospital later that month for treatment.
Mahathir and the National Heart Institute did not say at the time what procedure the former leader had undergone, only saying that he had been admitted to the cardiac care unit at the hospital.
Mahathir served as prime minister for 22 years until 2003. He returned as premier at the age of 92 after leading the opposition coalition to a historic win in 2018, defeating the party that he had once led. His government collapsed in less then two years due to infighting.
Malaysia reported 2,144 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Tuesday, bringing the national total to 4,780,284, according to the country's health ministry.
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Myanmar
Myanmar confirmed 87 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 615,117, according to the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement that these cases included 14 infected people who returned from abroad.
The statement said that health authorities tested 8,902 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.98 percent.
The death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,437 as no new deaths were confirmed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
New Zealand
New Zealand recorded 2,244 new community cases of COVID-19 and 17 more deaths from the pandemic, the country's Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.
The country has seen the number of daily cases going down steadily from over 10,000 cases nationwide more than a month ago.
With the fresh cases, New Zealand has reported 1,724,724 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,893 COVID-19-related deaths since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020, the ministry said.
A health worker (right) walks past people queueing up for coronavirus swab tests outside a gymnasium in Manila on Jan 7, 2022. (STR / AFP)
Philippines
The Philippines reported 1,672 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,878,734.
The country's Department of Health said the number of active cases fell to 26,168, while 53 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 61,773.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 563 new cases.
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 2,900 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 1,837,090.
Of the new cases, 275 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 2,625 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 257 were local transmissions and 18 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 2,434 local transmissions and 191 imported cases.
One more death was reported from COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 1,592, 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 3,241 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up by 832 from Monday, 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 11,408,952. The country reported four new deaths from COVID-19 in the capital Hanoi, the central Khanh Hoa province and the southern provinces of Can Tho and Tay Ninh on Tuesday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,117.
As of Tuesday, there were 137 severe cases in need of assisted breathing in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry.