Police officers walk past the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on Oct 10, 2021, a day before the expected easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Australia's largest city. (STEVEN SAPHORE / AFP)
CANBERRA / MANILA / SINGAPORE / KUALA LUMPUR / SEOUL / WELLINGTON / NEW DELH / ISLAMABAD – The Australian government has announced an end to requirements for international travelers to declare COVID-19 vaccination status.
On Monday morning, Australia reported more than 25,000 new COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths, 24 in Victoria and one in New South Wales
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Health Minister Mark Butler on Sunday announced that, from Wednesday, travelers arriving in Australia will no longer have to complete a Digital Passenger Declaration to declare vaccination status.
It marks an end to all Australia's international travel restrictions more than two years after they were first introduced in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"As more and more of us travel internationally and we get more confident in managing our risk of COVID, our airports are getting busier," O'Neil said in a statement.
"Removing these requirements will not only reduce delays in our airports but will encourage more visitors and skilled workers to choose Australia as a destination."
All people flying to Australia will still be required to wear face masks for the duration of the flight.
The announcement came when COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in Australia.
On Monday morning, Australia reported more than 25,000 new COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths, 24 in Victoria and one in New South Wales.
A health worker participates in a COVID-19 vaccine delivery system trial in Hyderabad, India, Jan 2, 2021. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP)
India
India recorded 16,135 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,518,564, showed the data released by the country's federal health ministry on Monday.
A total of 332,978 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the South Asian country in the past 24 hours, according to the ministry.
Besides, 24 new deaths due to the pandemic since Sunday morning took the death toll to 525,223.
The number of active cases in India rose to 113,864 including 2,153 new active cases recorded in the past 24 hours. Last week the number of active cases in the country crossed the 100,000-mark.
India's latest daily positivity rate stood at 4.85 percent while the weekly positivity rate was 3.74 percent, said the federal health ministry.
According to the ministry, so far a total of 42,879,477 COVID-19 patients have been successfully cured and discharged from hospitals, including 13,958 new discoveries registered in the past 24 hours.
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 2,536 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Sunday, bringing the national total to 4,573,891, according to the health ministry.
There are three new imported cases, with 2,533 cases being local transmissions, data released by the ministry showed.
Five new deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 35,776.
This file photo taken on Aug 18, 2021 shows an empty highway during a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in Wellington. ( MARTY MELVILLE / AFP)
New Zealand
New Zealand has recorded 6,498 new community cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Monday.
In addition, 76 new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the border.
Currently, 487 patients are being treated in hospitals due to COVID-19, including 11 in intensive care units or high dependency units.
New Zealand has reported 1,357,184 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020.
Pakistan
Pakistan recorded 675 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 1,538,622, the country's ministry of health said on Monday.
A total of 30,403 people have died from the pandemic in Pakistan, including two more deaths recorded on Sunday, showed data released by the ministry.
On Sunday, 14,632 tests for COVID-19 were conducted in Pakistan while the positivity rate stood at 4.61 percent.
Currently, there are 153 active cases that are in critical condition in the South Asian country.
Health workers conduct COVID-19 swab tests on residents at a village in Quezon City, the Philippines, on May 31, 2021. (AARON FAVILA / AP)
Philippines
The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,323 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, the highest tally since Feb 25, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,708,271.
The DOH said that 14 more people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the death toll to 60,592.
The DOH said that Metro Manila recorded 5,520 new cases in the last 14 days, the highest number among the five regions with new cases.
The Philippines reported the highest single-day tally on Jan 15 this year, with 39,004 new cases. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has tested over 30.8 million people for COVID-19 since being hit by the pandemic.
In this April 3, 2020 file photo, an ambulance carrying staff in protective clothing leaves the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, where patients suffering from the COVID-19 novel coronavirus are being cared for, in Singapore. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 6,127 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total tally to 1,467,234.
Of the new cases, 551 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 5,576 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 522 were local transmissions and 29 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 5,343 local transmissions and 233 imported cases.
A total of 582 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with nine of them held in intensive care units.
Two new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 1,418, the ministry said.
People wait to be monitored for possible side effects after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Seoul, South Korea, Aug 5, 2021. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)
South Korea
South Korea reported 6,253 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 18,395,864, the health authorities said Monday.
The daily caseload was down from 10,059 in the previous day, but it was far higher than 3,423 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
For the past week, the daily average number of confirmed cases was 9,499.
Among the new cases, 164 were imported, lifting the total to 35,926.
The number of infected people who were in a serious condition stood at 56, up three from the previous day.
Four more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 24,574. The total fatality rate was 0.13 percent.