A nurse administers a Pfizer vaccine to an elderly woman in her house in rural Sabab Bernam, central Selangor state, Malaysia, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Medical teams are going house to house in rural villages to reach out to elderly citizens as the government seeks to ramp up its vaccination program. (VINCENT THIAN / AP)
SYDNEY / WELLINGTON / YANGON / SINGAPORE / DHAKA / JERUSALEM / ANKARA / NEW DELHI / ULAN BATOR / BANGKOK / MUMBAI / PHNOM PENH / KUALA LUMPUR – More than 16.4 million people, or 50.5 percent of Malaysians, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the COVID-19 vaccine supply access guarantee special committee said Thursday.
The committee also noted that some 70.5 percent of the adult population over 18-years-old has been fully vaccinated in its daily update of vaccination rates in the country.
In an earlier press briefing, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government is studying the vaccination of those under 18-years-old as schools are planned to reopen
In an earlier press briefing, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government is studying the vaccination of those under 18-years-old as schools are planned to reopen.
On the type of vaccine that could be used for this category, he said a proposal had been received for the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Sinovac Life Sciences Co, Ltd.
"We might need this because if teenagers have reactions, anaphylaxis that might be connected to mRNA vaccines like Pfizer, we have options for other vaccines," he said.
He also said the government is preparing guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to help the country transition towards living with COVID-19 as an endemic disease.
Separately, Khairy said in a statement that another 19,307 fresh COVID-19 infections have been reported, bringing the national total to 1,919,774.
He said six of the new cases are imported and 19,301 are local transmissions. Another 323 more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 19,486.
Some 24,855 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 1,657,486 or 86.3 percent of all cases.
Of the remaining 242,802 active cases, 967 are being held in intensive care and 464 of those are in need of assisted breathing.
Meanwhile, Chinese company CanSino Biologics has helped Malaysia cross another milestone in vaccine manufacturing, this time by transferring technology to enable the local "fill and finish" of the COVID-19 vaccine based on the adenovirus platform.
Malaysian pharmaceutical company Solution Biologics deputy group managing director Mohd Nazlee Kamal told Xinhua that close and friendly cooperation with CanSino has made the venture possible.
Solution Biologics has secured a contract from the Malaysian government to supply some 3.5 million doses of the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by CanSino comprising half a million doses of finished product from its plant in Tianjin, China and the remainder delivered in bulk to be filled and finished in Malaysia.
Approval has been given by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for the Convidecia Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector) developed by the CanSino, with the finished product already in use, while the local "fill and finish" products are expected to be ready before the year's end.
A vendor wearing a face mask waits for customers for idols of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Hyderabad, India on Sept 4, 2021. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP)
India
As India's financial capital, Mumbai, gets ready for its biggest festival of the year, daily coronavirus cases have surged, rising more than two-fold in less than a month, even as authorities imposed curbs to prevent a further spike.
Markets were bustling and streets were crowded as people prepared for the 11-day festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, celebrating the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha, which begins on Friday.
Coronavirus cases in the city, which were at a low of 190 on Aug 16, rose to 530 daily infections on Wednesday, according to government data. Mumbai recorded a peak of 11,000 cases during India's devastating second wave this year, but won accolades for the way it recovered and curbed infections.
Most coronavirus-related restrictions have been lifted in the city, including on its famed local trains, which are now open to fully vaccinated travellers. But as the Ganesh festival approaches, authorities have imposed fresh curbs on public processions and restricted crowding at public pandals – temporary structures built to protect a shrine.
Before the coronavirus outbreak hit the city, thousands of people thronged the streets to pray to towering idols of Ganesha, which are placed at almost every street corner by local organisations and politicians, and on the last day of the festival, to immerse those idols in the sea.
This year, citizens are forbidden from visiting such pandals and the city's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, suggested that only 10 people, preferably fully vaccinated, should accompany the idol for immersion.
"The third wave is not coming. It is already here," Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar told reporters this week, urging citizens to stay home and celebrate the festival.
On Thursday, India's COVID-19 tally rose to 33,139,981, as 43,263 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 338 deaths were recorded since Wednesday morning, taking the death toll to 441,749.
This picture taken on Aug 27, 2021 shows a people wearing face maska walking through the empty streets of the central business district in Sydney during the lockdown. (SAEED KHAN / AFP)
Australia
Sydney's cafes, restaurants and pubs are set to reopen in the second half of October after months of strict COVID-19 lockdown, according to an exit roadmap published by New South Wales state officials on Thursday.
They said bars and eateries, as well as gyms, across the city of five million people will be able to reopen at reduced capacity within days of the state reaching a 70 percent double-vaccination target, now expected around mid-October. Stay-at-home orders for the fully vaccinated will be lifted on the Monday after the target is achieved, the officials said.
The plans come as daily infections linger near record levels in New South Wales (NSW) amid a spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, with the state registering 1,405 new local cases on Thursday, down from 1,480 a day earlier. Five new deaths were recorded.
"Living with COVID-19 means you have a cautious and staged reopening once you get to those high rates of vaccination in your adult population," NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said during a media briefing in Sydney, the state capital.
NSW's Berejiklian had initially pursued a COVID-zero strategy to quell an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant that began in mid-June, but has since shifted to focusing on increasing inoculation rates.
About 43 percent of the population above 16 in the state, Australia's most populous, have been fully vaccinated, with around 76 percent having received at least one dose, higher than the national average.
Under the plan, pubs and cafes in Sydney could reopen before the city's schools, which will begin classes for younger aged-groups from Oct 25.
Bangladesh
People lined up in long queues to receive the Chinese Sinopharm jabs outside a COVID-19 vaccination center on Tuesday morning in Bangladesh's Chandpur district, as the inoculation of the second doses started in the area.
"Chinese Sinopharm vaccine doses are being given here through our union Parishad. People are very much satisfied with the first doses of the Chinese (Sinopharm) vaccine," said Md Billal Hossain Patwari, chairman of Chandpur's Ashikati Union Parishad, the smallest rural administrative and local government unit in the country.
To fight against the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases, Bangladesh has signed an agreement on the co-production of the Chinese jabs locally.
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Cambodia
The total number of Delta variant cases in Cambodia has jumped to 3,323 after 669 new ones were reported, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement on Thursday.
A total of 1,113 cases have been detected in the capital Phnom Penh, while the rest were founded in 23 provinces, the statement said, adding that to date only Kep province has been spared from the highly contagious strain.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng called on Cambodians to keep vigilance as the Delta variant is more transmissible than other previously circulating strains.
Indonesia
The country reported 334 fatalities due to COVID-19 on Thursday, the least since June 23, as movement restrictions and more testing reined in the spread of infections.
Indonesia added 5,990 new cases on Thursday, with the positivity rate continuing to decline to 4 percent, well within the WHO’s recommendation for the gauge to be kept below than 5 percent.
Iran
Iran imported 5 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, along with 500,000 AstraZeneca jabs, the spokesman for the country’s national coronavirus task force, Alireza Raisi, told state television.
Some 15 million more doses are expected next week, and an additional 30 million jabs in the next month. Most of Iran’s vaccine imports so far have been from China.
A medic from Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service administers a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at a school in Holon, Israel on Sept 3, 2021. (TSAFRIR ABAYOV / AP)
Israel
Israel's Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported 6,780 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 1,139,641.
The ministry also reported 106 new deaths from the virus, taking the death toll in the country to 7,260.
Japan
Japan extended emergency COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday in Tokyo and other regions until the end of this month to curb infections and prevent hospitals being overwhelmed.
Announcing the extension, ratified earlier by an advisory panel, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said it was needed to shore up a medical system still stretched by serious cases even though new infections were falling and vaccinations were rising.
"Inoculation of all those who wish to be vaccinated will be completed in October or November," Suga told reporters. "And from then, we will be able to ease restrictions by using proof of vaccination or testing results."
Japan has been struggling with a fifth wave of the virus and last month extended its long-running curbs until Sept. 12 to cover about 80 percent of its population.
People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk on a street in Tokyo on Sept 8, 2021. (KOJI SASAHARA / AP)
The number of severe cases and the strain on the medical system have not eased sufficiently in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow restrictions to be lifted. The measures will now stretch until Sept 30, including for Osaka in the west.
Japan's emergency curbs have centred on asking restaurants to close early and refrain from serving alcohol. Residents are being urged to work from home as much as possible and refrain from travel.
Some signs of improvement around Japan mean two prefectures out of 21 will move from the state of emergency measures to more targeted restrictions, and a number of other prefectures will remove all curbs.
"I believe we're starting to see results, but it's still too early to lower our guard," Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said.
The number of severe cases and the strain on the medical system have not eased sufficiently in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow restrictions to be lifted. The measures will now stretch until Sept 30, including for Osaka in the west.
Local media have reported that the government may allow restaurants to resume regular business hours and alcohol sales as the vaccination push nears completion in October and November.
Authorities are considering plans that would reward businesses that maintain current infection controls, such as foot traffic limits, or encourage in-store checks of vaccination and testing status.
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Mongolia
Mongolia registered 3,680 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, marking the ninth consecutive day that saw more than 3,000 daily cases, bringing the national tally to 247,399, the country's Health Ministry said Thursday.
Meanwhile, 10 more patients died from the disease in the past day, pushing the death toll to 992.
Myanmar
The number of COVID-19 cases in Myanmar has increased to 423,104 on Wednesday after 2,702 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.
A total of 91 new deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 16,173 in the country as of Wednesday, the statement said.
People wearing face masks walk along a beach in Auckland, New Zealand on Aug 25, 2021. (MICHAEL CRAIG / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP)
New Zealand
Around a quarter of a million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine bought from Spain will arrive in New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday, boosting the country's inoculation program.
The doses will arrive in Auckland on Friday, Ardern said, adding to some 1.8 million doses being delivered directly from Pfizer throughout September.
"This means we don't have any plans to slow down the rollout," Ardern said at a news conference.
Officials have sped up the national vaccination program as they battle an outbreak of the Delta variant that prompted Ardern to order a snap nationwide lockdown last month.
About 1.7 million people in the largest city of Auckland remain in a strict level 4 lockdown but curbs have been eased in the rest of the country.
Around 31 percent of New Zealand's 5.1 million people have been fully vaccinated, one of the slowest paces among the wealthy nations of the OECD grouping.
Officials on Thursday reported 13 new cases of COVID-19, all in Auckland, taking the total number of cases in the latest Delta variant outbreak to 868.
Ardern's lockdowns and international border closure since March 2020 have been credited with reining in COVID-19, largely freeing up day-to-day activities for New Zealanders.
The Philippines
The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 22,820 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, the highest single-day spike since the pandemic began, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 2,161,892.
The DOH also reported 61 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the country's death toll to 34,733.
Thursday's caseload surpassed the previous record detected on Sept. 6 when the DOH reported 22,415 cases.
The active cases in the Southeast Asian country rose to 166,672 as the government scrambles to slow the virus transmission fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant.
The DOH said five laboratories failed to submit data while updating the low daily caseload it reported on Wednesday due to a technical glitch. It reported an additional 5,132 to the 12,751 cases, raising Wednesday's caseload to 17,883. The revised number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday rose to 2,139,137.
The Philippines, which has around 110 million population, has tested over 18 million people since the outbreak in January 2020.
The exterior of Tan Tock Seng Hospital is pictured in Singapore on April 30, 2021,. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore is shifting the focus of its daily reports to hospitalizations to turn attention to its medical capacity alongside plans to manage the virus as endemic, as the country’s daily count of COVID-19 cases in the local community rose to the highest it’s ever been.
There are signs that Singapore’s mass vaccination is holding down serious cases. While the overall number of daily local cases has doubled in the past week to 347, the number of serious cases requiring supplemental oxygen or intensive care is about the same as last week.
Singapore is changing the way it reports the COVID-19 situation. The Ministry of Health is now leading its daily report with data on serious cases in a shift that focuses attention on its hospital capacity instead of the rising number of cases.
The city-state will no longer report the number of linked and unlinked cases “as this is no longer as relevant as before, given our current strategy of living with COVID-19,” the ministry said in a statement accompanying its daily update, which will also be cut to once instead of twice a day from Thursday.
“We are now in a very different stage of our battle against COVID-19,” the health ministry said. The revamped reports will “reflect the salient issues” such as whether hospital capacity is getting overwhelmed, it said.
While the daily report doesn’t list Singapore’s system-wide capacity, previous statements suggest the city-state isn’t anywhere close to its limits.
For example, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in July said as many as 1,000 ICU beds could be made available to COVID-19 patients if needed. Just six are in ICU now. At its peak, in April of 2020, there were as many as 32 people in ICU.
Singapore is also looking to expand its health care capacity beyond critical care. The government has space for more than 5,500 COVID-19-positive people with mild or no visible symptoms in community care facilities, which is about 2,000 more beds than the total number of people in Singapore who got COVID-19 over the last month.
Additionally, the government is piloting a program that would allow some mildly ill patients to recover at home.
Thailand
Thailand issued a digital health pass to allow users to present vaccination information and COVID-19 test results on their phones to airlines before traveling domestically.
The pass can be used with seven airlines including Bangkok Airways, AirAsia and Vietjet Air, and also at restaurants and other businesses as Thailand prepares to open to more travel in October.
Thailand on Thursday reported 16,031 new COVID-19 cases, rising for the second day in a row and marking the highest daily tally in nearly two weeks, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
The new cases took the total number of infections in Thailand to more than 1.33 million, according to the CCSA.
The Southeast Asian country also reported 220 new fatalities during the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 13,731.
Turkey
Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 23,914 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,566,568, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 262 to 58,913, while 30,103 more people recovered in the last 24 hours