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)
SUVA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / TOKYO / SYDNEY / JAKARTA / ULAN BATOR / WELLINGTON / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR / NEW DELHI – Australia said on Monday it will reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers this month, ending two years of misery for the tourism sector, reviving migration and injecting billions of dollars into the world No 13 economy.
The move effectively calls time on the last main component of Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which it has attributed to relatively low death and infection rates. The other core strategy, stop-start lockdowns, was shelved for good in December.
The country had taken steps in recent months to relax border controls, like allowing in skilled migrants and quarantine-free travel arrangements – "travel bubbles" – with select countries like New Zealand.
But the reopening, which takes effect on Feb. 21, represents the first time since March 2020 that people can travel to Australia from anywhere in the world as long as they are vaccinated.
"If you're double-vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a media briefing in Canberra.
The tourism industry, which has relied on the domestic market that has itself been heavily impacted by movement restrictions, welcomed the decision which comes three months before Morrison is due to face an election.
Australian COVID-19 cases have soared in recent weeks due to the Omicron variant which medical experts say may be more transmissable but less virulent than previous strains.
But with more than nine in 10 Australians aged over 16 fully vaccinated, new cases and hospitalisations appear to have slowed, the authorities say.
The country reported just over 23,000 new infections on Monday, its lowest for 2022 and far from a peak of 150,000 around a month ago.
In this file photo taken on Aug 9, 2021, police officers keep watch at a security picket outside a vaccination center in Suva amid a rise in COVID-19 coronavirus cases in the Pacific nation. (LEON LORD / AFP)
Fiji
Fiji announced on Sunday that the national curfew from 12:00 am to 4:00 am will be lifted from midnight on Sunday as more COVID-19 restrictions have been eased.
Announcing the government's decision in a press conference on Sunday, Fiji's Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said that the curfew was previously implemented to prevent non-essential gatherings that can spread COVID-19 and allow for contact tracing at certain hours of the evening.
In some ways it served as a national barometer of progress towards normalcy, he said, adding that as they moved the time to 6:00 pm hour by hour to midnight in recognition of reaching Fiji's vaccination targets, now it is removed entirely.
He also announced the government's decision to ease some of the COVID-19 restrictions.
From Monday, public service vehicles can operate at full capacity, which include buses, mini-buses, carriers and taxis. However, the Fijian government will continue to enforce mask-wearing aboard all public service vehicles.
Indoor and outdoor sporting events, including competitive sports, may be held with spectators at 80-percent capacity provided those spectators wear masks.
Fiji, which has a population of around 900,000, has recorded more than 63,000 COVID-19 cases, with 811 deaths.
A health worker administers COVID-19 vaccination to a girl, in New Delhi, India, Jan 28, 2022. (MANISH SWARUP / AP)
India
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 42,272,014 on Monday, as 83,876 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, the health ministry's latest data showed.
Besides, as many as 895 deaths due to the pandemic since Sunday morning took the total death toll to 502,874.
There are still 1,108,938 active COVID-19 cases in the country despite a fall of 116,073 active cases during the past 24 hours. This was the 14th consecutive day when the number of active cases declined in the country.
A worker walks past a mural as he sprays disinfectant amid fears of another wave of the coronavirus outbreak at a low income neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb 5, 2022. (DITA ALANGKARA / AP)
Indonesia
Indonesia will tighten social restrictions in Jakarta and Bali, as well as in two other cities on Java island, in a bid to contain a spike in coronavirus infections, a senior cabinet minister said on Monday.
Separately, the transport ministry clarified that overseas tourists would still be able to enter the country through the capital Jakarta, after the ministry indicated otherwise in a statement issued on Sunday.
It earlier said foreign tourists and Indonesians returning from holidays abroad would be temporarily banned from flying into Jakarta, as a further precaution against COVID-19.
The new statement said tourists with the right paperwork could arrive through Jakarta and Bali airports, as well as via Batam and Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands near Singapore.
The Southeast Asian country has seen a jump in cases driven by the Omicron variant, with more than 36,000 infections reported on Sunday and the bed occupancy rate at hospitals in the capital reaching 63 percent, up from 45 percent in January.
Senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who oversees the pandemic response in Java and Bali, announced tightened social restrictions in greater Jakarta, Bali, as well as in the city of Bandung in West Java and Yogyakarta in Central Java.
Under the new regulations supermarkets, malls and restaurants will operate at 60 percent capacity, while capacity at houses of worship will be reduced to 50%, he told a streamed news conference.
In this file photo taken on Nov 10, 2021, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo. (STANISLAV KOGIKU / POOL / AFP)
Japan
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday he wants to speed up the country's COVID-19 booster shot program to 1 million shots a day by the end of the month, about double the current pace.
Kishida told a televised parliamentary budget committee meeting that he has instructed ministers to work with local governments to speed up inoculations as much as possible.
Nationwide infections surpassed 100,000 on Saturday for the first time. Most regions are now under infection control measures to try to blunt the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant that has exploded among a population where less than 5 percent have received vaccine booster shots.
Tokyo and 12 other prefectures are in final discussions to extend the virus curbs for about three weeks, the Asahi newspaper reported on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Kishida also said the government would consider granting conditional early approval for the oral COVID-19 treatment being developed by Shionogi & Co Ltd.
Kishida said in the same meeting that provided the drug's safety and efficacy are confirmed by clinical trials "we would like to review it promptly".
Shionogi separately said that new results from an ongoing clinical trial of the drug, known as S-217622, showed "significant difference" in antiviral effect compared to a placebo, as well as symptom improvement.
Chief executive Isao Teshirogi told reporters that the company could file for early approval of the drug as soon as next week, and that it could deliver 1 million doses by the end of March.
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 10,089 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Sunday, bringing the national total to 2,914,220, according to the health ministry.
There are 143 new imported cases, with 9,946 being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.
A further nine deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 32,034.
Mongolia
Mongolia registered 860 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 450,590, the country's health ministry said Monday.
The latest confirmed cases were all locally transmitted, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, three more COVID-19 patients aged over 60 died in the past day, pushing the death toll to 2,055, it said.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported 188 new community cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
Among the 188 new community infections, 117 are in the largest city Auckland, 15 in Waikato, 20 in Bay of Plenty, 16 in Northland, 12 in the Lakes Region, three in Canterbury, two in Hutt Valley, one in Tairawhiti, Hawke's Bay and Mid Central each.
In addition, 27 new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the New Zealand border.
Singapore
Singapore reported 7,752 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total tally to 397,823.
Of the new cases, 1,617 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 6,135 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
People wearing face masks pass by a banner reminding precautions against the coronavirus at a park in Seoul, South Korea on Jan 24, 2022. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)
South Korea
South Korea registered a total of 282,018 breakthrough COVID-19 infections, which refer to the vaccinated people who were infected with the virus, the health authorities said Monday.
The number of those who tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving two vaccine doses came in at 282,018 as of Jan 30, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
It accounted for 0.652 percent of the fully vaccinated people that reached 43,258,354.
South Korea reported 35,286 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 1,044,963, the health authorities said on Monday.
The daily caseload was down from 38,689 in the previous day, but it hovered above 30,000 for the third consecutive day, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
A woman (center) carries a refilled gas container in the center of the capital Nuku'alofa ahead of the country's first lockdown on Feb 2, 2022, after COVID-19 was detected in the previously virus-free Pacific kingdom as it struggles to recover from the deadly Jan 15 volcanic eruption and tsunami. (MARY LYN FONUA / MATANGI TONGA / AFP)
Tonga
Tonga once again extended the lockdown in some parts of the island country on Sunday as it reported two new COVID-19 cases.
According to Tonga's news website Matangi Tonga Online on Sunday night, Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni announced the extension of the lockdown in the main island of Tongatapu and Vava'u, an island group consisting of one large island ('Utu Vava'u) and 40 smaller ones, after confirming two new COVID-19 cases, co-workers of the case at the wharf in the capital city of Nuku'alofa.
Currently, Tonga has seven COVID-19 cases, and they are all in good health and have not shown symptoms.
Sovaleni said that the lockdown has been extended for the incubation period of 14 days when symptoms start to appear if individuals have contracted the virus.
However, shops and other essential services will be permitted to open on Tuesdays and Fridays for people to restock during the lockdown from 6 am to 6 pm local time.
The new 14-day lockdown starting at 6 pm on Sunday will allow health officials to follow those who had close contact with these cases detected earlier.
On Friday, Sovaleni announced a 48-hour lockdown in the island country, which expired at 6 pm on Sunday. The lockdown in the islands of Eua, Ha'apai and Niuas was lifted on Sunday after hundreds of people tested negative over the weekend.
Tonga, a South Pacific island nation with a population of more than 100,000, has vaccinated 97 percent with their first doses, and 88 percent have received their second doses.
A man passes walks past a billboard on the coronavirus in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 4, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnam
More than 17 million Vietnamese students were due to return to school on Monday for the first time in about a year, the health ministry said, as authorities announced plans to start vaccinating children from as young as five against COVID-19.
The Southeast Asian country lifted many of its coronavirus curbs in October, but almost all students had been confined to taking online classes since early last year.
Most schools in the country are due to reopen by the middle of February, the health ministry said in a statement.
In a separate statement at the weekend, the government said it intended to buy 21.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged between five and 12.
More than 75 percent of Vietnam's 98 million people have received at least two vaccine shots and authorities aim to administer a booster shot to all of the adult population by the end of March.
Schools in the capital Hanoi will start reopening from Tuesday, with precautions such as temperature checks and protocols in place in case positive cases are detected, authorities said.
The ministry of health said the country reported 14,112 new cases on Sunday. Overall, Vietnam has reported 2.34 million COVID-19 infections and more than 38,300 deaths.