A woman wearing a mask and face shield washes her hands on a roadside in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 26, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA) YANGON – Myanmar extended its COVID-19 preventive measures until Feb 28, the state-run media citing the Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday. The extension applies to […]
Western narratives on Beijing’s pandemic management fly in the face of reality (LI MIN / CHINA DAILY) In recent weeks, the Western media’s coverage of China has been dominated by news of it adjusting its COVID-19 policies. Expectedly, it turned into a China-bashing carnival. Some said the country has lost its fight against the pandemic, […]
A man receives a dose of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Vientiane, Laos, June 17, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA) HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE / VIENTIANE / NEW DELHI / KUALA LUMPUR – The Lao government is speeding up COVID-19 vaccination for children aged between five to 11 years and people […]
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) NEW DELHI / VIENTIANE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / TOKYO / KUALA LUMPUR […]
A health worker administers Covishield vaccine for COVID-19 at a vaccination center in Hyderabad, India on July 15, 2022. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP) NEW DELHI / VIENTIANE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA – India's vaccine maker Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) announced the price of newly-developed COVID-19 nasal vaccine iNCOVACC on […]
A notice on restrictions on the size of groups to stop the spread of the COVID-19 is pictured on a lamp post in Singapore on March 29, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP) KUALA LUMPUR / MANILA / SINGAPORE / HANOI – Singapore reported 1,017 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 2,195,980. […]
People line up to register their names to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Hyderabad, India, Dec 27, 2021. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP) NEW DELHI – India's federal government approved on Friday the use of intranasal COVID-19 vaccine iNCOVACC, officials said. INCOVACC, manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Ltd, will be used as a heterologous booster The […]
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 / HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE – Japan's health ministry and local […]
Earlier this month, China announced that it was discontinuing its strict dynamic zero-COVID policy to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Many people, using 20-20 hindsight, tried to second guess the decision. Many "Monday morning quarterbacks" asked why China didn't open up earlier and why it would risk putting its economy in a temporary […]
A Bangladeshi man receives COVID-19 vaccine in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Jan 30, 2022. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR / DHAKA / NEW DELHI – Bangladesh began administering the 4th dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday to priority groups in its capital city of Dhaka. The priority groups […]
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) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR – Brunei logged a daily average […]
In this file photo taken on Nov 25, 2020, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn (left) and Queen Suthida (right) meet supporters after attending a ceremony to mark an anniversary of the death of King Vajiravudh in Bangkok, Thailand. (RAPEEPHAT SITICHAILAPA / AP) BANGKOK / KUALA LUMPUR / SINGAPORE / MANILA – Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua […]
Resilient and determined nation’s war against global pandemic deserves applause An elderly woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a community in Beijing's Haidian district on March 14, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA) The world needs to applaud China’s dynamic zero-COVID measures. As the saying goes, “Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches.” China, having […]
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) TOKYO / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE – Japan's Meiji Holdings Co said on Tuesday its drug […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) ISLAMABAD / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / WELLINGTON / NEW DELHI – The Australian government has revealed its plan to continue fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023, focusing support […]
People return to shopping at Newmarket in Auckland, New Zealand as some COVID-19 restrictions were eased on Nov 10, 2021. (ALEX BURTON / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP) ISLAMABAD / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / WELLINGTON – New Zealand recorded 40,098 new community cases of COVID-19 and 35 more deaths from the pandemic over […]
A health worker speaks to arrivals at a COVID-19 vaccination hub at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane on Aug 17, 2021. (PATRICK HAMILTON / AFP) MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / KUALA LUMPUR – Health authorities of Australia's state of Queensland on Friday urged residents to get […]
Medical staff transport a patient from the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne on Oct 9, 2021, as Victoria state recorded 1965 new COVID-19 cases, its highest daily infection number since the start of the pandemic, putting more pressure on the state's struggling health system. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP) SYDNEY / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI […]
A Bangladeshi man receives COVID-19 vaccine in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Jan 30, 2022. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP) CANBERRA / MANILA / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI / KUALA LUMPUR / COLOMBO / NEW DELHI / DHAKA / ISLAMABAD – The Bangladeshi government has said that everyone aged 60 or above will be offered a […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) CANBERRA / MANILA / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI – A leading infectious diseases expert has predicted that up to 500,000 Australians are currently infected with COVID-19. Peter Collignon, an infectious […]
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) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE – Brunei logged a daily average of 503 new COVID-19 […]
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks with media after Parliamentary church service in Canberra on July 26, 2022. (STR / AFP) SINGAPORE / SYDNEY / HANOI / MANILA / KUALA LUMPUR – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday afternoon and would work from home while isolating. In […]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to the media during a press conference on COVID-19 restrictions at Parliament in Wellington on March 23, 2022. (MARTY MELVILLE / AFP) WELLINGTON – The New Zealand government said on Monday it would launch an inquiry into the country's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic so future governments could […]
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 / HANOI / MANILA / KUALA LUMPUR – Singaporeans should expect a […]
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA) YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / DHAKA – Myanmar has vaccinated more than 37.53 million people for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, the Ministry of Health's data showed. The figures comprised over 30.77 million people aged 18 and […]
A girl walks past a poster at a vaccination centre in New Delhi on April 10, 2022, after government announced the paid precaution dose against the coronavirus to be available for everyone above 18 years of age at private vaccination centers. (MONEY SHARMA / AFP) NEW DELHI / YANGON / HANOI / SINGAPORE / MANILA […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / MANILA / HANOI / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR – Australia's largest state will withdraw or refund tens of thousands of fines issued during […]
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) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / MANILA / HANOI – The COVID-19 Steering Committee of Brunei announced on Monday the […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) CANBERRA / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / SINGAPORE / ISLAMABAD – Australia has reported a small uptick in active COVID-19 cases as the country nears the peak of its fourth wave […]
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 […]