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Tuesday, June 15, 2021, 10:01
Malaysian PM unveils virus exit plan as deaths top 4,000
By Agencies
Tuesday, June 15, 2021, 10:01 By Agencies

Malaysians wait outside a community hall for coronavirus testing at a designated site in Shah Alam, outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 27, 2021. (VINCENT THIAN / AP)

KUWAIT CITY / DHAKA / KUALA LUMPUR / TOKYO / NEW DELHI / JERUSALEM / BANGKOK / SEOUL / ULAN BATOR / PHNOM PENH / MANILA / ISTANBUL / KARACHI - Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled a COVID-19 exit plan on Tuesday, outlining how the country would navigate its way out of the pandemic as it has been in lockdown since June.

In a televised speech, Muhyiddin said the plan would be gradually rolled out in four phases, adding that the transition to each phase would be based on three indicators: average daily infections, ICU bed capacity and the percentage of the population that’s inoculated.

Muhyiddin said the government's immediate priorities were to ramp up the national immunization plan, stabilize the healthcare system which is under heavy strain, and roll out economic stimulus packages.

Malaysia expects to fully reopen its economy and lift a ban on inter-state travel beginning end-October at the earliest if new COVID-19 cases average below 500 a day, said Yassin.

The current phase of the national lockdown is costing the economy 1 billion ringgit (US$242 million) a day as most businesses remain shut, Muhyiddin said. The government expects to begin easing the curbs in steps starting July, he said.

The second phase that’s expected in July will begin once daily cases drop below 4,000 and 10 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, he said.

The lockdown is already showing results, the prime minister said. The nation’s COVID-19 curve has begun flattening, and the health care system is able to handle new cases amid rising recovery rates.

Malaysia reported another 5,419 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the national total to 667,876. Another 101 more deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 4,069. 

The country's health ministry said Tuesday it has granted conditional approval for emergency use to the single dose COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by China's CanSino Biologics and US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J).  

The ministry has also approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for recipients aged 12 and above, although priority would still be given to those in high-risk groups, it said.


Cambodia

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said that 3 million people in the Southeast Asian nation have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far.

Su Sam Eoun, a 48-year-old single mother from southern Kandal province, has been awarded 10 million riels (US$2,500) for being the 3,000,000th vaccine recipient, the prime minister said on his social media account late Monday.

"Now, we have vaccinated 3 million people, or 30 percent, of our 10 million targeted adult population. This is a big success," the prime minister said.

The health ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said on Tuesday that 2.53 million out of the 3 million vaccine recipients have been fully vaccinated with two doses.

Her remarks on the same day the country confirmed 495 new cases, pushing the total caseload to 39,464, the ministry said in a statement. The death toll rose by 13 to 361. 

Pakistan

Pakistan has lifted a rule barring the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people below 40 years old, in a bid to help inoculate people who need to travel for education or jobs abroad, particularly Saudi Arabia, a health official said.

Pakistan, which relies heavily on remittances from its expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia, has primarily used Chinese vaccines - Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Sinovac - in its inoculation drive and, till now, only used AstraZeneca for those above 40.

The Saudi authorities have not approved the Chinese shots, so people with only those vaccinations still need to quarantine, which is unaffordable for many, Faisal Sultan, a health adviser to the prime minister, said.

Sultan said the government was using diplomatic channels to see if Saudi Arabia would approve Chinese vaccines in future.

Pakistan on Monday reported 838 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 943,027, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Tuesday.

The death toll rose by 59 21,782, according to NCOC.

The Philippines

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 5,389 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the cumulative caseload to 1,327,431.

The death toll climbed to 22,963 after 118 more fatalities were registered, the DOH said.

The decline in the number of new cases in the country has "stalled, and a plateauing trend continues," Alethea De Guzman of the DOH Epidemiology Bureau said at an online briefing.

The number of new cases in Metro Manila and neighboring areas shows a "very slow decline," said De Guzman, adding the Visayas region in the central Philippines "now has the steepest increase in cases surpassing the number of cases in Metro Manila and adjacent areas".

She warned that the current downward trend "remains fragile" and trends "can go either way".

Thailand

Thailand's prime minister apologized and took the blame on Tuesday for coronavirus vaccination delays, while thousands of private companies and public organizations raced to secure doses imported by a royal-backed academy.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said holdups were caused by supply and distribution issues, after some hospitals in Bangkok were forced to postpone scheduled inoculations this week.

So far 4.76 million of Thailand's more than 66 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In Phuket, about 61 percent of its population have received the first shot as the Thai island prepares to open up for international tourists on July 1.

Thailand's COVID-19 caseload topped 200,000 on Tuesday as 3,000 new cases were reported, taking the total to 202,264, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

Thailand also reported 19 more deaths on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 1,485, the CCSA said.

Thailand has begun to conduct a clinical test on its locally developed COVID-19 vaccine with humans, Chulalongkorn University's medical professor Kiat Ruxrungtham said.

The director of the Vaccine Research Center of Chulalongkorn University's Medicine Department said on Monday that 72 volunteers, aged between 18 and 75 years old, have undergone the first phase of the clinical test on the ChulaCov19 vaccine, designed to build the human body's immunity to the coronavirus.

If the ChulaCov19 vaccine is finally proven as capable of inducing such immunity in humans, its manufacturing in a quantitative volume for use with people might probably get started by the middle of next year, he said.

People throng the Sadar Bazar market as lockdown measures to curb coronavirus spread were eased in New Delhi, India, June 14, 2021. (ISHANT CHAUHAN / AP)

India

Having barely got over a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections, India was gripped with alarm on Tuesday over risks of a resurgence as crowds thronged railway stations and shopping malls a day after major cities relaxed curbs on movement.

The capital New Delhi, in the north, and tech hub Bengaluru, in the south, were among the cities that have begun lifting strict lockdowns as the nationwide tally of new infections dropped to its lowest level in more than two months.

In the early hours of Tuesday, Delhi's underground rail network put out alerts on Twitter about peak traffic and longer waits, responding to angry commuters angry about long queues.

After a strict five-week lockdown, authorities in Delhi have fully re-opened shops and malls, and allowed restaurants to have 50 percent seating. Suburban rail networks can run at 50 percent capacity, and offices have been partially reopened.

Vaccinations have slowed, however; the city government said inoculation centers for people ages 18-44 would start shutting down on Tuesday, as doses were scarce.

Doctors say Delhi's near-complete re-opening is concerning. The city's authorities have said they would reimpose strict curbs if needed.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 29,570,881 on Tuesday, as 60,471 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, said the federal health ministry. It was the eighth consecutive day the country reported less than 100,000 confirmed cases.

The death toll rose by 2,726 to 377,031.

Currently there are 913,378 active cases in India, down 59,780 in the past 24 hours.

The Serum Institute of India is preparing to produce Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine in the country, government official Vinod Kumar Paul said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

Mongolia

Mongolia registered 2,386 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, renewing a record high for the sixth consecutive day and bringing the national tally to 80,733, the country’s health ministry said Tuesday.

Another 11 deaths and 797 recoveries were also reported in the past day, taking the totals to 394 fatalites and 57,822 recoveries, respectively, the ministry said.

More than 1,657,700 Mongolians have so far been fully vaccinated since the country launched a national vaccination campaign in late February, it said.

South Korea

South Korea has administered COVID-19 vaccine to a quarter of its population as of Tuesday afternoon, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the health authorities.

A total of 13 million people, or about 25.3 percent of the country's population of 51.35 million, have received the first shot as of 2:30 pm local time.

The report came as the country logged 374 new cases the past 24 hours, raising the total caseload to 148,647.

The daily caseload marked the lowest in almost three months.

South Korea reported another 226 cases of virus variants for the past week, bringing the total number of such cases to 1,964, the health authorities said.

Among the new cases detected since June 6, 31 were imported from overseas and 195 were locally transmitted, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Vanuatu

China's Sinopharm vaccine started to roll out in Vanuatu on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Bob Loughman had his first jab of the vaccine after the launching ceremony, which was held at the National Convention Centre in the capital city of Port Vila.

Loughman thanked the Chinese government for donating the vaccines, saying these vaccines will play an important role to help Vanuatu roll out its vaccination program and protect the people's health and safety.

Australia

Australia's Victoria state on Tuesday reported two new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the state capital Melbourne, both linked to an existing cluster that prompted renewed social distancing measures in the city.

Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, had earlier in the day reported no new local cases, using data for the 24 hours to midnight on Tuesday, fuelling hopes that movement restrictions would be eased later in the week.

The two new cases, both primary contacts of prior cases, were recorded after the midnight cut-off and will be added to Wednesday's data.

Victoria state Health Minister Martin Foley said the cases were both traced to infections reported from a residential townhouse complex in Melbourne, raising the cluster to six. Hundreds of residents were urged to undergo testing and to self-isolate.

Japan

Japan is slated to start inoculating people aged between 18 and 64 at state-run mass COVID-19 vaccination centers on Thursday, the government said Tuesday.

Japan's vaccine program chief, Taro Kono, saidon he hoped the daily COVID-19 vaccination rate would hit one million by the end of June.

The country's requirement of domestic clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines cost it precious time in inoculating its population, Kono said.

"It's probably necessary for ordinary times, but in the case of emergency, or state of emergency, like COVID-19, I think we should have started the vaccination as early as possible," Kono said.

His remarks came on the same day Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co said it was halting development of an inhaled form of nafamostat mesylate for the treatment of COVID-19. Nafamostat is used in the treatment of pancreatitis and has antiviral properties.

In another development, Japan will send 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday.

The shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines produced in Japan are due to arrive in Vietnam on Wednesday, Motegi told reporters.

Japan is considering additional vaccine donations to Vietnam and Taiwan, and it plans to send doses to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand early next month, Motegi added. 

Turkey

Turkey on Tuesday began inoculating civil servants and workers against COVID-19 as part of its ongoing nationwide vaccination program.

On Monday evening, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged all employees registered with the social security system to book their vaccination appointment.

After the minister's statement, many people attempted to use online platforms to make an appointment, causing short-term collapses in the vaccination system due to overload.

Earlier in the day, Tugba Naziroglu, a pulmonologist at the Istanbul Pendik State Hospital, said the vaccination units in her hospital saw the highest occupancy rate since the nationwide vaccination campaign started in January.

Meanwhile, "the density at the COVID-19 units, however, are at the lowest level," Naziroglu said on Twitter, noting the number of coronavirus-infected people admitted to the hospital has significantly decreased.

Turkey vaccinated around 842,494 people on Monday, bringing the total amount of doses administered to 34.6 million, according to official data. Out of those, 20.8 million people received at least one shot of the vaccine.

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health on Monday announced in a statement that a rule mandating the wearing of face masks indoors in the country will be lifted starting Tuesday.

Children headed to school and adults to work without masks for the first time in more than a year. Israelis have not had to wear masks outdoors since April.

The ministry said masks would still be required of unvaccinated patients or staff in medical facilities, of people en route to quarantine and of passengers on commercial flights.

About 55 percent of Israel's 9.3 million population are fully vaccinated - a turnout largely unchanged by this month's expansion of eligibility to include 12- to 15-year-olds.

Singapore

Singapore, one of the first countries to authorize the use of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for children aged 12 and above, plan to resume face-to-face instruction in schools on a staggered bases from June 28.

“Close to 90 percent of our students have signed up for vaccination, and 1 in 3 of them have already received their first dose of the vaccine,” Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post on Monday. “Going forward, we must combine vaccination with increased testing and rapid isolation of potential infection clusters to keep our schools open and safe.”

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 25 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 19 locally transmitted and six imported, bringing the total tally to 62,301.

Of the local cases, 18 are linked to previous cases, and one is currently unlinked. Amongst them, 18 are in the community, and one resides in a dormitory.

There are also six imported cases, who have already been placed on Stay-Home Notice upon arrival in Singapore.

The Philippines

The Philippines has extended the travel ban for all inbound travelers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) until June 30, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Monday evening.

In a statement, Roque said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved the extension of travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the highly infectious variant.

The Philippines initially imposed travel restrictions on India from April 29 due to the COVID-19 surge in that country. It widened the ban to include travelers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka from May 7.

Manila and Bulacan province will remain under so-called “general community quarantine” with “some restrictions” until June 30, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said in a recorded briefing Monday night.

The neighboring provinces of Rizal, Laguna and Cavite -- which host some export manufacturers -- will be put under the same quarantine status, but with “heightened restrictions”. A stricter quarantine classification will be imposed on more than a dozen areas including Davao City, the economic center of Mindanao Island.

Afghanistan

The two main hospitals treating people with COVID-19 in Afghanistan have had to close their doors to new patients because of a lack of beds, a senior health official and doctors said on Monday.

Afghanistan is grappling with a third wave of the pandemic, with a record number of infections and deaths being reported amid a surge in violence as U.S.-led international forces withdraw and Taliban insurgents go on the offensive.

"Both Afghan Japan and Ali Jinnah hospitals had to close their doors because they had no more beds or resources," the health official said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.

The official said the two hospitals, both in the capital Kabul, were facing persistent shortages of oxygen and other medical supplies.

Passengers and motorists from Madura island get swab tests for COVID-19 before entering the Surabaya area at a checkpoint on June 10, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP)

Indonesia

Indonesia expects a new wave of coronavirus infections will peak in early July, as the highly transmissible delta variant becomes more dominant in some areas and with the occupancy of hospitals in Jakarta hitting 75 percent, officials said.

COVID-19 infections in the world's fourth most populous country have been on the rise in recent weeks since holidays at the end of the Muslim fasting month, when millions flouted restrictions to travel across the archipelago.

The delta variant was now "more dominant" in areas like Jakarta and other parts of Java, Health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at a news conference on Monday.

At least 60 cases of the variant had been detected in Kudus, Central Java, where hospitals were more than 90 percent full, said Wiku Adisasmito, spokesperson for the country's COVID-19 task force.

On Tuesday, the country reported 8,161 new cases, taking the tally to 1,927,708, the health ministry said. The death toll rose by 164 to 53,280.

Indonesia said offices can only have staff equivalent to 25 percent of capacity, down from 50 percent previously, and said schools and places of worship must shut in areas deemed most at risk. The curbs will stay in place until June 28, with the police and military ensuring compliance, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said Monday.

ALSO READ: Thailand misses vaccine target as shortage hits mass rollout

Kuwait

Kuwait registered on Monday 1,563 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the country to 329,526, the Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported.

The ministry also announced eight more fatalities, taking the death toll in Kuwait to 1,828, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,464 to 311,559.

A total of 16,139 COVID-19 patients are receiving treatment, including 172 in the intensive care units, it said.

The Delta COVID-19 variant was detected in Kuwait, and a number of persons in the country have been infected with the variant, the ministry confirmed on Monday.

READ MORE: Indonesia revs up vaccinations as daily virus cases surge

Myanmar

Myanmar reported 223 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total cases in the country to 145,826, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health and Sports.

Four more deaths were reported on Monday, bringing the death toll to 3,248 in the country, the statement said.

According to the ministry, a total of 132,969 patients have been discharged from the hospitals and over 2.65 million samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far, including 2,819 samples tested on Monday.  

Vietnam

Vietnam reported 272 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 266 locally transmitted and six imported, bringing the total tally to 10,810, according to the Ministry of Health.

Among the community cases, 236 were reported in quarantine facilities or lockdown areas. In terms of localities, 121 were detected in the northern epidemic hotspot Bac Giang province, 82 in the southern Ho Chi Minh City, 22 in the central Ha Tinh province and 17 in the northern Bac Ninh province.

Most of them are contacts of previously confirmed cases or linked to the clusters of infections in the localities.

Nationwide, as many as 4,236 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered, up 238 from Sunday, and over 196,100 people are being quarantined and monitored.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh reported 3,319 new COVID-19 cases and 50 more deaths on Tuesday, taking the tally to 833,291 and the death toll to 13,222, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The total number of recoveries stood at 771,073, up 2,243, said the DGHS.


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