Villagers fill in their forms before receiving a dose of the Sinovac vaccine at a health center outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Feb 23, 2022. (HENG SINITH / AP)
PHNOM PENH / SINGAPORE / HANOI / ISTANBUL – Cambodia said on Friday it will lift quarantine requirements for unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated inbound travelers, but require them to undergo a rapid antigen test upon their arrivals.
The decision will take effect from July 11, Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in a statement.
"If the rapid antigen test's result is negative, he/she will be allowed to travel to their respective houses or destinations without observing quarantine obligations," Bunheng said.
"If the test's result turns out to be positive, but the patient has mild symptoms, he/she will be allowed to undergo treatment at home with self-isolation," he added.
For positive patients with severe symptoms, however, they must seek medical treatment at licensed COVID-19 hospitals, the minister said.
According to Bunheng, an unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated foreign traveler is required to pay $5 for a rapid antigen test.
He also encouraged unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated inbound travelers to receive COVID-19 vaccines for free-of-charge at any vaccination site across the country.
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 9,284 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total tally to 1,515,222.
Of the new cases, 789 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 8,495 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 750 were local transmissions and 39 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 8,181 local transmissions and 314 imported cases respectively.
One death was reported from COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total death toll to 1,427, the ministry said.
A man wearing a mask to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 walks along an alley in a commercial area in Istanbul, Turkey on Jan 18, 2022. (FRANCISCO SECO / AP)
Turkey
Turkish health specialists have warned against an increase in COVID-19 cases across Turkey, urging authorities to take immediate precautions.
The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of the Omicron strain have quickly increased the number of daily cases, said Mehmet Ceyhan, head of the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases of the Ankara-based Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine.
Ceyhan called on health authorities to reinstate some of the COVID-19 measures which had been gradually lifted this spring.
A polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 test should be requested again when entering Turkey, he said, adding masks should be worn when taking public transportation and elevators in hotels, and social distancing should be ensured in restaurants.
"Omicron was the Trojan horse of the coronavirus. It entered into society as a harmless mutant. Humans relaxed. Precautions were finished, and vaccination stopped," he explained the latest surge in a tweet. However, he warned that the "mutation machinery" continues its work.
Turkey recorded 57,113 cases and 25 fatalities between June 27 and July 3, up from 26,635 cases and 17 deaths the week before, the Turkish Health Ministry reported.
Experts believe that the actual number is much higher than the official figure as rapid antigen tests are not documented.
Passengers wait for transportation outside the arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on March 15, 2022, as Vietnam announced the return of a visa exemption policy for 13 countries in an effort to kickstart its tourism sector. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 802 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, down by 111 from Thursday, according to its Ministry of Health.
The infections brought the total tally to 10,752,942 with 43,089 deaths.