People wearing protective masks walk around the famed Shibuya scramble crossing in a shopping and entertainment district on Oct 25, 2021 in Tokyo. (KIICHIRO SATO / AP)
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / BEIRUT / HANOI / MALE / SINGAPORE / WELLINGTON / YANGON - In the world’s oldest nation Japan, less than one person a day is dying from COVID-19.
The six confirmed deaths in Japan over the past week is the lowest it’s been in the country since July 2020, before the second wave of pandemic fatalities.
That slump parallels the collapse in reported cases, which are down from more than 25,000 a day in August to fewer than 200 a day every day for the past three weeks.
It’s unclear exactly why the wave of cases and deaths Japan faced in late summer and early fall has receded so dramatically. A comprehensive vaccination campaign is at least partly responsible for the drop, with more than 77 percent of the nation’s 126 million residents fully inoculated as of Monday.
The vaccination rate among the vulnerable elderly is even higher, with 92 percent of those 65 years and older having received two shots.
Australia
Australia’s New South Wales state said genome sequencing has confirmed an additional six Omicron cases contracted from an outbreak in Sydney’s western suburbs, bringing the number of locally acquired infections to 20. Including international arrivals, the state has found 31 cases of the variant, none of whom have been admitted to hospital, health officials said in a statement Tuesday.
The source of the Western Sydney outbreak is believed to be a returning traveler who spent time in Nigeria and arrived on a flight from Doha on Nov 23, the statement said.
READ MORE: Australia Omicron variant spreads, testing reopening plans
Brunei
Brunei began the administration of second dose of COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 17 on Monday.
According to Minister of Health Haji Mohd Isham, the youngsters should have no quarantine orders or self-isolation notices. If they recently recovered from COVID-19, they should wait no less than four weeks after recovery.
Brunei has said COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, China's Sinopharm, and Johnson and Johnson would be administered in the country.
The country reported 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 15,202 with 100 deaths.
People arrive to receive the COVID-19 Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at Lebanon's American University Medical Center in the capital Beirut, on Feb 14, 2021. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
India
India reported 6,822 new infections Tuesday, the lowest daily tally in more than 18 months, as the outbreak eases across the South Asian nation. Total infections have now crossed 34.6 million and COVID-related deaths exceed 473,700, data from the health ministry show.
Even though new cases are on the wane, the world’s second-worst-hit nation has detected almost two dozen cases of Omicron, and health authorities are monitoring if the new variant triggers another spike in infections.
Lebanon
Lebanon's General Directorate of Aviation on Monday announced new travel rules for arrivals in Lebanon to curb the spread of COVID-19, the National News Agency reported.
The directorate said that from Dec 15, passengers coming to Lebanon must register on a platform of the Ministry of Public Health, take a PCR test at a certified lab in the country of departure and upload the test result on the platform.
It added that all passengers arriving in Lebanon except for children and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon members must take a PCR test upon arrival in Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Lebanon has recently seen a remarkable increase in its daily number of infections with total cases reaching 678,801 and the death toll from the virus standing at 8,775.
Maldives
Maldives has recorded its first case of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, local media reported Tuesday.
Maldives Health Protection Agency confirmed that it had detected the Omicron virus after conducting genomic sequencing on samples taken from a tourist from South Africa who arrived in the country on November 27.
The Maldivian government has banned travel to the Maldives from South Africa, Namibia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe following the discovery of the Omicron variant.
Maldivian citizens and work permit holders travelling from these countries must undergo PCR tests and quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
According to the latest figures from the HPA, a total of 92,368 active cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the country
Myanmar
Myanmar reported 231 new COVID-19 infections with daily positivity rate of 1.37 percent, according to the Ministry of Health on Monday.
The number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 524,638 while its death toll has reached 19,146 after five new deaths were reported on Monday, the ministry said.
A total of 500,701 patients have been discharged from hospitals and over 5.69 million samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported 98 new Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in the community on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country's current community outbreak to 9,266.
Among the new infections, 74 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, 10 in nearby Waikato, eight in Bay of Plenty, one in Taranaki and five in Nelson, according to the Ministry of Health.
Singapore
Singapore confirmed on Monday two imported cases with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Ministry of Health said in a press release
Singapore confirmed on Monday two imported cases with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Ministry of Health said in a press release.
The two Singaporeans had tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant on Dec 2. The National Public Health Laboratory has completed whole genome sequencing for the cases, and has confirmed that they are infected with the Omicron variant. Both infected people are fully vaccinated, and have the mild symptoms of cough and scratchy throat.
They were isolated upon arrival in Singapore on Dec 1, said the ministry.
Singapore reported 662 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Of the new cases, 638 were found in the community, 13 in migrant worker dormitories and 11 were imported cases, the health ministry said.
Guides hold notices about precautions against the coronavirus as people wait to watch the 2021 World K-Pop Concert at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang, South Korea on Nov 14, 2021. (AHN YOUNG-HOON / AP)
South Korea
Ambassadors from the US, UK, Canada, India, Australia and New Zealand have called on South Korea to recognize the vaccination status of foreign nationals. Foreigners living in South Korea who were vaccinated in their home countries still need to be receive two shots in Korea in order to gain access to public facilities, such as restaurants, museums and gyms.
South Korea reported 4,954 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 482,310.
VirusStudents of the 12th grade attend a class at Tran Nhan Tong high school in Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec 6, 2021. (HAU DINH / AP)
Vietnam
The Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Monday made a last-minute change to the previously announced plan regarding high school reopening as many COVID-19 community transmissions have been detected in the last few days, making it risky for students.
Under the new direction by Hanoi's Department of Education and Training, only 12th graders will return to schools from Monday, with 50 percent having in-person classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the rest having them on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Students from other grades will still have to learn online and kindergartens remain closed, except for ninth graders in suburban districts with low COVID-19 risk who were allowed to come back to schools since November.
The capital city has about 3,000 schools with more than 2 million students across 30 districts and one township, according to local media Vietnam News. Hanoi is stepping up vaccination for children aged 12-17 to get them back to school.
