Malaysian indigenous women from the tribe of Temuan wait outside the vaccination centre to be innoculated against Covid-19 coronavirus at their village hall in Sungai Buloh on June 28, 2021. (Mohd RASFAN / AFP)
TOKYO / ANKARA / MUMBAI / KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia reported another 20,396 new COVID-19 infections, the health ministry said on Sunday, bringing the national total to 1,844,835.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that eight of the new cases are imported and 20,388 are local transmissions.
Another 336 more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 18,219.
Another 336 more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 18,219
Some 20,573 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 1,570,827, or 85.1 percent of all cases.
Of the remaining 255,789 active cases, 959 are being held in intensive care units and 436 of those are in need of assisted breathing.
The country reported 300,501 doses administered on Saturday alone. Some 62.5 percent of the population have received at least one dose, and 48.3 percent are fully vaccinated.
Australia
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has doubled down on his plan to end pandemic lockdowns and state border closures by Christmas, even as rising cases increase the pressure on Sydney’s health-care system.
“Everyone can make plans for a family Christmas,” Morrison said in an interview with Melbourne’s Herald Sun paper on Sunday. “Nobody wants Covid to be the virus that stole Christmas, and we have a plan and the vaccinations available to ensure that’s not the case.”
Under Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s plan, lockdown restrictions would be eased when 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and borders re-opened at 80 percent
Under Morrison’s plan, lockdown restrictions would be eased when 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and borders re-opened at 80 percent. But while the plan was agreed to by state premiers last month, there are doubts that the COVID-free states of Western Australia and Queensland will open up to New South Wales and Victoria, which are grappling with the country’s worst outbreaks.
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“The day of reckoning is coming for all states and territories that being locked down is not a way that you can maintain forever,” Michael Sukkar, assistant treasurer, said in an interview on Sky News. While border restrictions had been necessary to combat the spread of the virus, “we don’t have to think back too far to when being an Australian meant you could travel anywhere in this country, and I think Australians are longing to get back to that point.”
This picture taken on August 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)
The Greater Sydney region has been in lockdown since June, yet case numbers continue to rise. The health-care system is feeling the strain with hospitalizations rising above 1,000 for the first time and the state government isn’t expecting patient numbers to peak until October.
India
India reported 42,766 new coronavirus infections overnight, the federal health ministry said on Sunday, taking its tally to 32.9 million cases.
The death toll rose by 308 to 440,533, data from the ministry showed.
Israel
An Israeli study among 330 actively treated cancer patients found that 88 percent developed antibodies after two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, compared with 97 percent among a control group of healthy patients. The researchers measured the antibody response two months after the second inoculation.
The study at Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center also found no significant side effects among cancer patients receiving active treatment.
The proportion who didn’t develop adequate antibody responses was highest among those receiving chemotherapy as a single drug, compared with those treated with immunotherapy and targeted therapy as single drugs.
Japan
Japan will issue online COVID-19 vaccination certificates from December, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday.
The government plans to issue the certificates – which will be intended for overseas travel rather than domestic use – via a QR scan code through a smartphone app from around mid-December, the Nikkei said, without citing sources.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other cabinet members are slated on Monday for a council meeting on the promotion of a digital society where they will decide on the government's policy for digital vaccine passports, the report said.
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The Nikkei said the project will be a priority for Japan's new Digital Agency, which launched this week to focus on bringing central and local government infrastructure online.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported 20 local COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the same as in previous day, giving authorities more confidence that they are gaining a winning hand over the current outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Officials said all the new cases were in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city and the epicentre of the outbreak. Daily case numbers have been declining over the past week, with the community outbreak now standing at 801 infections.
A man wearing a face mask walks on a street during a nationwide covid-19 lockdown in Wellington on August 18, 2021. (MARTY MELVILLE / AFP)
"The ongoing fall in numbers is proving that alert level 4 in Auckland and our public health measures are rapidly slowing the spread of the virus, however it is not through yet and we need to remain extra vigilant," Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a televised briefing.
About 1.7 million people in Auckland have been in strict level 4 lockdown since the outbreak began in mid-August. Curbs have been eased since in the rest of the country, but schools, offices, restaurants and all public venues remain shut.
The government will review the remaining nationwide restrictions on Monday. Auckland is to remain in full lockdown until at least Sept 13.
New Zealand, a nation of five million, has confirmed 3,412 cases of COVID-19 and 27 related deaths.
Turkey
Turkey on Saturday confirmed 20,033 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,478,663, according to its Health Ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 278 to 57,837, while 19,464 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.
A total of 283,385 tests were conducted over the past day, it said.
Turkey started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.
More than 49.37 million people have received their first doses of the vaccine, while over 38.14 million have taken the second doses. Turkey has so far administered over 96.76 million doses including third booster jabs.