Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP)
JERUSALEM / CAIRO / WELLINGTON / KUWAIT CITY / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / HANOI / JAKARTA / BAGHDAD / YANGON / SINGAPORE / ANKARA / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / TOKYO / ISLAMABAD / DHAKA / MANILA – Australia reported its lowest daily COVID-19 deaths in two weeks on Monday while cases continued to trend lower as authorities braced for staff shortages in schools due to likely outbreaks as thousands of students return after their summer break.
Most states will go through a staggered school reopening exercise this week as Australia battles the worst outbreak of the pandemic, with the fast-moving Omicron coronavirus variant spiralling cases to record levels.
"There will be challenges and there will be bumps over these first few weeks," Victoria state Deputy Premier James Merlino said during a media briefing on Monday. Merlino said a pool of about 350 retired teachers have been set up to support schools when they have to furlough staff.
Masks are mandatory indoors for older children and millions of at-home antigen tests, still not readily available in many stores, are being rolled out to families free of cost, with children asked to undergo COVID-19 tests twice a week.
About 40 percent of children aged 5-11 years have been administered their first vaccine dose, while around two-thirds of eligible Australians have received their boosters.
Though Omicron appears to be less virulent than earlier variants, the sheer number of cases has overwhelmed hospitals and testing facilities.
Nearly 34,000 new infections were reported on Monday, the lowest tally in a month, while 44 deaths were registered.
Hospitalizations have remained steady at around 5,000 for the last few days, peaking at just under 5,400 last Tuesday. The number was at 4,869 on Monday after falling over the past five days.
Commuters (left) gesture to a magistrate after being stopped and fined by policemen while outdoors without a facemask, along a street in a mobile court in Dhaka on Jan 13, 2022. (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP)
Bangladesh
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has continued to decline for the fifth consecutive day in Bangladesh, with over 12,000 new cases reported Sunday.
According to figures published by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the country confirmed 12,183 new COVID-19 cases and 34 more deaths on Sunday, which has brought the death toll to 28,363.
According to the official data, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is 1.59 percent and the current recovery rate is 87.69 percent.
On Sunday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said they decided to offer COVID-19 vaccines to everyone over 12 and booster shots to all above 40 years of age.
He said the country has a comparatively low fatality rate from COVID-19 due to the government's vaccination efforts.
Also on Sunday, DGHS lowered the COVID-19-related quarantine period from 14 to 10 days, considering the current infection rate.
Case counts began to decrease from Wednesday after surging for weeks.
Brunei
Brunei reported 68 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total tally to 16,413.
The new cases included 55 local infections and 13 import cases, said the Ministry of Health.
As of Saturday, 94.8 percent of Brunei's population had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, while 94 percent had completed their vaccination schedule of two doses and 39.9 percent had received three doses.
The ministry recorded 414 active cases and 102 deaths in the country.
A health worker takes the body temperature of an elderly man before a booster shot of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a third dose vaccination campaign at South Tangerang Regional General Hospital in Tangerang, Indonesia on Jan 24, 2022. (TATAN SYUFLANA / AP)
Indonesia
Indonesia on Sunday confirmed 12,422 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise since Aug. 27, 2021, amid the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus in the archipelagic country.
The newly recorded infections brought the total tally to 4,343,185, the Health Ministry said.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Indonesia in the past 24 hours rose by 18 to 144,303, while 3,241 more people recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,137,164.
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India
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 41,302,440 on Monday, as 209,918 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to the health ministry's latest data.
Besides, as many as 959 deaths were recorded since Sunday morning, taking the death toll to 495,050.
Currently there are 1,831,268 active cases in the country with a decrease of 53,669 during the period. This was the seventh consecutive day when the number of active cases declined in the country.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein attends a news conference with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in Brussels on Jan 20, 2022. (JOHANNA GERON / POOL / AFP)
Iraq
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein have been tested positive for COVID-19, but "is recovering and will continue his work soon," the foreign ministry confirmed on Sunday.
"We confirm that the minister's health condition is good, and he is recovering, and he will continue his work and activities soon," said a statement by the ministry's spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf.
The statement came in response to media reports that Hussein did not participate in the consultative meeting of foreign ministers of the Arab League in Kuwait because of his infection with coronavirus.
The Iraqi health ministry reported on Sunday 5,582 new coronavirus cases, raising the nationwide caseload to 2,203,365.
It also reported 15 new deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 24,376, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,657 to 2,104,993.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on Jan 2, 2022. (EMIL SALMAN / POOL PHOTO VIA AP)
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that the country is beginning to see the end of the wave of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
"We are seeing the beginning of a trend of stabilization in the Omicron wave," Bennett said during a live broadcast at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting.
Bennett also expressed cautious optimism. "I choose my words carefully to avoid the 'end of semester' atmosphere, and celebrating the end of omicron is out of place," he warned, adding currently Israel is "dealing with congestion in the hospitals and a very large number of the infected people."
The remarks came as a report issued by the Israeli health ministry on Sunday morning showed the coronavirus reproduction rate, known as the R number, has fallen below 1 for the first time in months.
The R number, which represents the number of people expected to be infected by the virus, reached 2.12 in mid-January and fell to 0.95 on Sunday, according to the report.
The ministry also reported 45,258 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total tally to 2,759,031 in the country with a population of 9.45 million.
The death toll from the virus in Israel rose by one to 8,658, while the number of COVID-19 patients in serious condition increased by 1,010 to 1,069, the highest figure since February 2021, it added.
A woman wearing a protective face mask walks in front of a public awareness notice on the Omicron coronavirus variant on Jan 24, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP)
Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday said a state of emergency for Tokyo was not considered over a surge in COVID-19 cases at the moment as the Omicron variant of the virus continued to wreak havoc.
The hospitalization rate in Tokyo of those with COVID-19 is moving towards the 50 percent threshold whereby the metropolitan government would think about requesting the full emergency measures be implemented for fears that the hospitals could quickly become overburdened.
Most recently, the rate in hospitals in the capital hit 48.5 percent Sunday, prompting Kishida to clarify his current stance on the state of emergency on Monday.
"A quasi-state of emergency has already started, and our basic thinking is that we will confirm its effect, see how the situation develops and work closely with municipalities before comprehensively making a decision," Kishida told a press briefing on the matter.
"At least at this moment, the government is not considering declaring a state of emergency," he said.
At the moment, including Tokyo, 34 out of Japan's 47 prefectures are under a quasi-state of emergency, which means local governors and authorities can ask bars and restaurants to close early and refrain from serving alcohol.
A full state of emergency could see tougher anti-viral measures introduced, including capping the hours on commercial facilities such as shopping malls, cinemas and entertainment parks, or requesting they close altogether.
Kuwait
Kuwait will start vaccinating children aged between 5 and 11 against COVID-19 this week, the Ministry of Health said Sunday.
Wider appointments will be open to provide the vaccine this week and the children at higher risk will be given priority, said Abdullah Al-Sanad, spokesman of the ministry.
The vaccination for this age group was decided on the studies of relevant international bodies and organizations, Al-Sanad added.
Myanmar
Myanmar has recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for seven days in a row, leaving the total death toll unchanged at 19,310, according to a release from the Ministry of Health on Sunday.
The total number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 535,254 in the country after 174 new cases with a daily positivity rate of 1.87 percent were reported in the past 24 hours, the release said.
An additional 92 recovered patients were discharged from hospitals on Sunday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 513,193 so far in the Southeast Asian country.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces the country will move to red traffic light setting as part of new COVID-19 restrictions during a press conference in Wellington on Jan 23, 2022. (MARK MITCHELL / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP)
New Zealand
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern returned a negative COVID-19 test result on Monday, but she will remain in self isolation until the end of Tuesday as per health guidelines, a government spokesman said.
Ardern took a coronavirus test on Sunday after being exposed to an infected person on a flight to Auckland from the town of Kerikeri.
"The Prime Minister has returned a negative COVID-19 test. In line with Ministry of Health guidance she is required to continue isolating until the end of Tuesday, Feb 1, or as otherwise advised by Public Health," a spokesman to the Prime Minister said.
The governor-general and other members of Ardern's staff who were on board the flight, have also been in self-isolation.
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Pakistan
Pakistan reported 7,048 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the fifth day with over 7,000 new infections amid the country's ongoing battle against the Omicron variant of the virus, according to figures released by the National Command and Operation Center on Monday.
With the new cases, the country's number of overall confirmed cases has risen to 1,425,039, according to the center, which leads Pakistan's campaign against the pandemic.
Another 21 people lost their lives over the past 24 hours in Pakistan, taking the death toll to 29,269, while 1,423 are in critical condition.
Philippines
The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 14,546 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,560,202.
The DOH said 112 more people died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 54,003.
A mother arrives with her daughter the French Lycee in the Qatari capital Doha on Jan 30, 2022, following the reopening of schools in the Gulf emirate after a brief closure to fight COVID-19. (KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Qatar
Qatari Ministry of Health approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years, it said on Sunday.
In November, Gulf states Bahrain and Saudi Arabia approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for children in the same age category.
Singapore
Singapore reported 4,498 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total tally to 348,330.
Of the new cases, 1,424 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 3,074 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
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
Turkey on Sunday reported 88,145 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 11,526,621, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 189 to 87,234, while 81,530 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 13,694 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 13,656 locally transmitted and 38 imported, according to its Ministry of Health.
The Vietnamese capital Hanoi remained the locality with the highest number of infections on Sunday with 2,924 cases, followed by the central Da Nang city with 876 cases and the northern Bac Ninh province with 803 cases.