Medical workers exchange items before an intubated patient at the COVID-19 coronavirus ward of Dura Governmental Hospital in the town of Dura on the outskirts of Hebron in the West Bank on Feb 5, 2022. (HAZEM BADER / AFP)
RAMALLAH / MANILA / SINGAPORE – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday declared a 30-day state of emergency to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the West Bank, official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The state of emergency was first declared in March 2020 after the discovery of the first coronavirus cases in the Palestinian territories. It was last extended or re-declared in January this year, local media reported.
Under the state of emergency, the government is empowered to take any step it deems necessary to fight the pandemic.
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 reported 3,126 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,867,071.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 31,037, and 43 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, the highest since May 1, pushing the country's death toll to 61,519.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 887 new cases.
The Philippines reported its highest COVID-19 single-day tally of 39,004 new cases on Jan. 15. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has fully vaccinated over 72.3 million people.
A vendor wearing a protective facemask amid fears about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus serves a customer at a fruit stall in Singapore on May 8, 2020. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 2,397 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 1,827,229.
Of the new cases, 245 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 2,152 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the ministry of health.
Among the PCR-confirmed cases, 219 were local transmissions and 26 were imported cases. Among the ART-confirmed cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 2,046 local transmissions and 106 imported cases, respectively.
A total of 297 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with six cases in intensive care units.
One death was reported from COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 1,587, the ministry said.