A health worker (left) wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a man for Covid-19 coronavirus testing in Hanoi on August 20, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
TOKYO / WELLINGTON / SEOUL / ISTANBUL / SYDNEY / PHNOM PENH / JERUSALEM / SINGAPORE / TEHRAN / AMMAN / BENGALURU / MANILA / ULAN BATOR / HANOI / VIENTIANE – Vietnam could be facing a lengthy battle against the coronavirus and cannot rely on lockdown and quarantine measures indefinitely, its prime minister said, as the country struggles to contain its deadliest outbreak so far.
Vietnam has deployed soldiers and forced residents of its biggest city to stay in their homes in recent weeks, in its most drastic measures yet to fight an outbreak that has shattered what was one of the world's best containment records.
Vietnam has deployed soldiers and forced residents of its biggest city to stay in their homes in recent weeks, in its most drastic measures yet to fight an outbreak that has shattered what was one of the world's best containment records
"We cannot resort to quarantine and lockdown measures forever, as it will cause difficulty for the people and the economy," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said late Wednesday.
Aggressive contact tracing and quarantine procedures in the country of 98 million people had succeeded in keeping the virus under control for over a year, but the highly contagious Delta variant has hit Vietnam hard.
Total cases jumped from just a few thousand in late April to 480,000 at present, with more than 12,000 deaths, with Ho Chi Minh City by far the worst hit. Authorities reported 13,197 infections and 271 fatalities on Thursday.
Restrictions were causing "material and mental hardship," Chinh said while meeting experts to hear ideas on fighting the virus.
The measures have also forced companies in labour-intensive businesses, including suppliers for brands like Nike and Adidas, to suspend operations.
Vietnam's industrial output in August fell 7.4 percent from a year earlier, while its exports dropped 5.4 percent. Retail sales of goods and services plunged 33.7 percent, according to official figures.
Chinh said preventing deaths was top priority and vaccinations were a key strategic measure.
Just 2.9 percent of Vietnam's population have been inoculated, while its fatality rate of 2.5 percent is higher than the global rate of 2.1 percent, according to the health ministry.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving in a complicated and unpredictable manner and may last for a long time," Chinh said.
Australia
Australia’s COVID-Zero strategy is under unprecedented pressure with some states seeking to remain isolated from Sydney and Melbourne, where attempts to eliminate the highly-contagious Delta variant have been abandoned.
The surge of coronavirus cases in the nation’s most-populous southeastern region, including its largest cities Sydney and Melbourne, has seen some states with Labor party leaders balk at conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s plan to remove ongoing lockdown restrictions.
He also wants to reopen domestic and international borders when vaccination rates reach certain thresholds.
The outbreak continues to spread from Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, which is preparing to ease stay-at-home orders when 70 percent of people over 16 years are fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile the leaders of Western Australia and Queensland states, which are keeping Delta at bay by banning arrivals from southeastern Australia, are now indicating they want to keep isolated indefinitely. Or at least until the nation’s wave of Delta infections is brought under control.
Before Delta, Australia avoided the wave of infections that hit most other nations by relying on closed international borders, rigorous testing and lockdowns to eliminate community transmission.
Cambodia
Cambodia's COVID-19 case total has jumped to 93,510 on Wednesday after 455 fresh infections were reported across the kingdom, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The new infections included 375 domestic cases and 80 imported ones, the ministry said.
Thirteen more fatalities were confirmed, taking the overall death toll to 1,916, according to the ministry.
Students wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus, attend classes in Ahmedabad, India on Sept 1, 2021. (AJIT SOLANKI / AP)
India
India reported the biggest single-day rise in COVID-19 cases in two months on Thursday, as the government worries about the virus spreading from the most-affected Kerala state, schools reopening, and the start of the festival season.
Densely populated Kerala, on India's southern tip, accounted for nearly 70 percent of the 47,092 new infections and a third of deaths, a week after it celebrated its biggest festival during which family and social gatherings were common.
"With cases rising in Kerala, adequate steps should be taken to contain the inter-state spread of COVID-19," Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a statement after speaking with his state counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which border Kerala.
He asked them to increase vaccination in the districts close to Kerala. India has so far administered 662 million doses, with at least one dose in 54 percent of its 944 million adults and the required two doses in 16 percent.
Vaccinations have soared in recent days as supplies have improved. And as more than two-thirds of Indians already have COVID-fighting antibodies, mainly through natural infection, experts think another national surge in cases will be less deadly than the last one in April and May when tens of thousands of people died and hospitals ran out of beds and oxygen.
"A decently managed vaccination program, along with the hybrid immunity we're seeing now, makes a massive third wave unlikely," said clinical immunologist and rheumatologist Padmanabha Shenoy, who led the study and was referring to the immunity from natural infection and one vaccine dose.
The federal government, nevertheless, has warned that like in Kerala, the rest of India could also see a rise in infections around the festival season starting this month and ending in early November.
ALSO READ: India's virus vaccine supply jumps, raising export hopes
Iran
The total COVID-19 cases in Iran surpassed 5 million on Wednesday, driven by an over two-month surge in infections, primarily attributed to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and a decline in observance of health protocols.
With 33,170 new cases reported, the country's total tally now stands at 5,025,233, according to data released by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
According to a briefing published on the ministry's official website, the pandemic has claimed 108,393 lives in the country so far, after 599 new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours.
A medic from Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service prepares a booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine in Tel Aviv, Israel on Aug 14, 2021. (TSAFRIR ABAYOV / AP)
Israel
Israel's Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported 10,313 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 1,082,363.
The death toll from the coronavirus in Israel rose by 39 to 7,082, the ministry said.
Japan
Moderna Inc and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd on Wednesday said they are working with Japanese authorities to recall three batches of COVID-19 vaccine after an investigation found stainless steel contaminants in some vials.
Japanese authorities had suspended use of these batches of Moderna shots containing 1.63 million doses last week after being notified of the contamination issue.
Japan's health ministry said on Wednesday, based on information from the companies' investigation, that it did not believe the particles of stainless steel pose any additional health risk. Moderna said the stainless steel contamination probably occurred during production.
Takeda distributes the Moderna vaccine in Japan.
The most probable cause of contamination was related to friction between two pieces of metal in the machinery that puts stoppers on the vials, Moderna said in the joint statement with Takeda. The material was confirmed to be stainless steel.
Moderna conducted its investigation in partnership with Takeda and Spanish manufacturer Rovi, which operates the plant where the contamination occurred.
"Stainless steel is routinely used in heart valves, joint replacements and metal sutures and staples. As such, it is not expected that injection of the particles identified in these lots in Japan would result in increased medical risk," Takeda and Moderna said in a joint statement.
In this file photo dated June 30, 2021, a health worker prepare a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Sumida ward of Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / FILE / AP)
Administration of the Moderna shots from the three lots was suspended in Japan after 39 vials were found to contain foreign material. All the vials came from a single lot, but shots from two other lots from the same Rovi manufacturing line were suspended as a precaution.
Those three lots were the only ones affected by the manufacturing issue, according to the statement. Rovi has fully inspected its manufacturing facility and implemented new procedures to avoid similar problems in the future, it added.
Use of the Moderna vaccine from different batches also was temporarily halted in three regions in Japan this week. In some cases, foreign substances were found in unused vials, while others appear to have been the result of incorrectly inserted needles causing bits of the vials' rubber stopper break off.
The contamination issue gained more attention after the health ministry said on Saturday that two men, aged 38 and 30, died in August within days of receiving their second Moderna doses. Each had received a dose from one of the suspended lots.
The cause of death in the two cases is still being investigated.
Moderna and Takeda said in the joint statement that there was no evidence the fatalities were caused by the vaccine. "The relationship is currently considered to be coincidental," the companies said in the statement.
Jordan
More than 2 million students resumed on Wednesday in-school learning in Jordan after a months-long hiatus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education Najwa Qubeilat said in a statement that a plan would be implemented in the first two days of the new school year, entailing an odd-even number system for different grades students returning to the campus.
According to health protocols, random testing will take place in schools, and if the infection rate in any school exceeds 10 percent, the school will turn to online learning for 14 days, she added.
Laos
More than 4 million people have now had either one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, taking Laos a step closer to meeting the target to vaccinate 50 percent of the adult population by the end of 2021.
As of Tuesday, nationwide 2,474,767 people had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1,804,017 people had been given two doses, according to the latest report by Center of Information and Education for Health under the Lao Ministry of Health.
The Lao Ministry of Health is planning to vaccinate 50 percent of the country's 7.2 million population by the end of 2021.
The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Thursday reported 129 imported cases and 41 locally transmitted cases.
As of Thursday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Laos has reached 15,459 with 14 deaths.
A total of 10,128 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
Laos reported its first two confirmed COVID-19 cases on March 24 last year.
Malaysia
Malaysia plans to reopen the tourist haven of Langkawi islands as it renews efforts to rebuild parts of the economy worst hit by the pandemic.
Langkawi, in the state of Kedah, will open to locals under a travel bubble plan from Sept 16, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement Thursday. Other destinations will be allowed to operate when the locality’s vaccination rate hits 80 percent, he said.
Malaysia is preparing for life with COVID-19 even as daily cases remain elevated, mirroring Thailand’s tourism-reopening plan based on a pilot project in the popular resort island of Phuket. COVID-19 will be treated as endemic and it is time for Malaysians to learn to live with the virus, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said at a briefing on Wednesday.
New infections have soared despite the containment measures, hitting a record 24,599 in a single day late last month and turning the country into Southeast Asia’s COVID-19 hotspot. The nation added 20,988 cases Thursday. Still, the virus’ effective reproduction rate, or R-naught, has fallen below 1 nationwide for the first time in few months, Ismail Sabri said, amid an increase in vaccination.
More than 84 percent of the adult population has received at least one dose, and 64 percent has been fully inoculated, according to the health ministry. Based on projected data, the average vaccination rate among adults in each state is expected to reach 80 percent by month-end, and 100 percent by end of October, Ismail Sabri said.
“Eventually we have to live with Covid as is the case around the world,” he said.
Meantime, Melaka state will move into the second phase, and Negeri Sembilan into the third stage of the national recovery plan from Saturday after meeting the threshold limits in reducing COVID-19 infections, the prime minister said.
The decision was made by the National Security Council, which will now be renamed as the Special Committee on Pandemic Management, he said. The committee will include representatives from opposition parties as well.
Mongolia
Mongolia recorded the highest daily count of 3,805 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 221,351, the country's health ministry said Thursday.
The ministry said that 7,549 samples were tested across the country in the past day.
The viral disease has so far claimed 948 lives after four more people aged over 40 died in the past day.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported a drop in new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, which authorities said was a sign that the lockdown enforced nationwide was working in limiting the spread of the infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Authorities reported 49 new cases on Thursday, all in the epicenter of Auckland, taking the total number of cases in this outbreak to 736.
"The latest lower number is encouraging and does show that our alert levels 4 lockdown is working even against the Delta," the Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said in a news conference.
Singapore
Singapore's Ministry of Health reported 180 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total tally in the country to 67,800.
The new infections included 177 locally transmitted cases. As many as 54 are linked to previous cases and have already been placed on quarantine. A total of 33 are linked to previous cases and have been detected through surveillance, while 90 are currently unlinked.
ALSO READ: Vaccine shortages prompts some ASEAN nations to develop own jabs
Members of the Korean Health Worker's Union wearing protective suites hold warning letters during a rally to call for an increase in the number of nurses assigned to COVID-19 treatment wards and for better treatment of medical personnel in front of the Seoul City Hall in Seoul, South Korea on Aug 23, 2021. The signs read "Please announce COVID-19 manpower standards." (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)
South Korea
South Korean frontline health workers on Thursday dropped plans to strike after they reached an agreement with the government on their demand for increased staffing and better work conditions during last-ditch negotiations overnight.
The Korean Health and Medical Worker's Union had warned some of its 80,000 members, including nurses, medical engineers, and pharmacists who say they are exhausted from battling waves of COVID-19 outbreaks, would begin striking from Thursday if their demands were not met.
Upon the union's request, the government agreed to establish at least four public infectious disease hospitals by 2024, draft a detailed nurse deployment guidelines per severity of COVID-19 patients by October, and expand funding to subsidise those treating contagious diseases to go into effect in January 2022.
It has also agreed to establish a recommended nurse to patient ratio. The United States has a recommended ratio of 1:5 and Japan has 1:7 while South Korea has none.
The union had argued its workers are often working double or triple shifts and need better pay and working hours.
The government and the union have previously met for talks 12 times since May, including a 14-hour marathon session on Monday, but had not been able to find common ground.
South Korea has fully inoculated 31.7 percent of its 52 million people, and 57.4 percent with at least one dose. The government wants 70 percent of its citizens to have had at least one shot by September.
South Korea reported 1,961 new COVID-19 cases for Wednesday, raising the tally to 255,401, with 2,303 deaths. The country has been keeping its mortality rate and critical infections relatively low at 0.9 percent and 371 cases, respectively.
Thailand
Thailand reported 262 new COVID-19 deaths, taking cumulative fatalities to 12,103, as the country relaxed some of its quasi-lockdown restrictions to allow malls and restaurants to reopen.
The country reported 14,956 new cases, the third straight day of daily infections below 15,000.
The Philippines
The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 16,621 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,020,484.
The death toll climbed to 33,680 after 148 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added.
The UAE
Abu Dhabi will remove the need to quarantine for all vaccinated travellers arriving from international destinations starting Sunday, said the Abu Dhabi government media office on Twitter on Thursday.
A negative PCR test remains a requirement to travel to the United Arab Emirates' capital, it said.
Turkey
Turkey's daily coronavirus cases rose to a three-week high of 23,946 on Wednesday while the death toll, at 290, was the highest since May 6, according to official data.
The rise in daily COVID-19 deaths since mid-July has been among the sharpest among peers in Europe and the Middle East, global data shows.