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Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 09:37
Report: Japan weighs relaxing COVID-19 border rules
By Agencies
Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 09:37 By Agencies

A passenger walks with her suitcase at the arrivals hall at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport on Feb 18, 2022, after Japan's government announced plans to ease virus border rules for workers and students. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

JERUSALEM / YANGON / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / SUVA - Japan may lift requirements for pre-departure COVID-19 tests for travellers and raise daily caps on entrants, domestic media have reported.

Japan has some of the strictest pandemic border measures among major economies, requiring travellers to present a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure.

The government may soon waive tests for vaccinated passengers, with the change taking effect in a few weeks, Nikkei reported late Monday. A daily cap of inbound travellers may be raised from 20,000 to 50,000 as early as next month, Fuji News Network said on Tuesday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno declined to comment on the timing of any border easing, saying it would depend on COVID-19 conditions in Japan and overseas.

"Along with taking every measure to prevent contagion, we'll also promote economic activity - and with border control measures, we'll relax them in stages while keeping these two things in balance," Matsuno told reporters.

Japan's foreign ministry said it is aware of the media reports, but deferred comment to the health ministry, which has jurisdiction over border infection 

controls. The health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is recuperating from COVID-19 at his home after testing positive on Sunday, said in May that he wanted to bring Japan's border measures more in line with those of other Group of Seven nations.

Japan in June opened up to tourists for the first time in two years, though visitors must get visas and stick to guided, package tours.

Domestic and foreign business groups have urged a greater relaxation of Japan's border controls, saying the measures risk causing the nation to fall behind economically.

Brunei

Brunei logged a daily average of 283 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

According to the ministry's weekly briefing, 59,328 Antigen Rapid Test results were uploaded to the government platform within one week, with 3.3 percent of them being positive. This means that the average number of daily cases has decreased by 83.6 percent from the peak of the fourth wave of the pandemic in the middle of July last year.

Currently, one hospitalized case is held in intensive care unit and three cases require assisted breathing, according to the ministry.

As of Aug 21, 76.6 percent of Brunei's population have received three doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 9.0 percent have taken the fourth dose.

Fiji

Fiji has reported two more COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the death toll in the island nation to 877 since March 2020, when it recorded the first confirmed COVID-19 case.

Fiji's Ministry of Health confirmed that the first death is a 72-year-old male in the central part of the country who only received the first dose of vaccine, and died at home on Aug 4, according to reports by Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) on Tuesday.

The second death is a 63-year-old male in the western side of Viti Levu, Fiji's main island, who had received three doses of vaccine. He was admitted to Lautoka Hospital on Aug 6 and died on Aug 12.

The ministry also said that Fiji recorded 55 new cases over the weekend, with the total number of active cases in the island nation standing at 154.

India

India reported 8,586 new cases of COVID-19 during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,357,546 in the country, according to federal health ministry data released on Tuesday.

The figure dropped from Monday's 9,531, with the country's active caseload at 96,506.

The country also logged 48 related deaths during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 527,416 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.

With the increase in cases, the daily positivity rate stands at 2.19 percent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded 3.31 percent, the ministry data showed.

Passengers walk with their luggage upon their arrival at Ben Gurion Airport near Lod on Nov 1, 2021, as Israel reopens to tourists vaccinated against COVID-19. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Israel

Israel's Health Ministry announced on Monday free and voluntary COVID-19 PCR tests will be offered to inbound passengers at Ben Gurion International Airport beginning Wednesday.

"There is a real likelihood of another COVID-19 morbidity wave in the winter, combined with a flu outbreak," the ministry explained.

"PCR tests, unlike antigen ones, allow the detection of variants and are therefore recommended for arriving passengers," it added.

Passengers will receive a text message encouraging them to take the PCR test upon landing at the airport, according to the ministry.

Israel cancelled mandatory PCR tests for arriving passengers at its main Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv on May 20, citing a decline in COVID-19 infections.

A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Myanmar

Myanmar confirmed 42 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 614,696, according to the Ministry of Health on Monday.

The ministry said in a statement that these cases included 14 infected people who returned from abroad.

The statement added that the health authorities tested 8,186 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.51 percent.

The death toll from COVID-19 remained unchanged at 19,437 as no new deaths were confirmed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

A child receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 as a performer dressed as superhero character Spider-Man looks on at a gym in San Juan City, suburban Manila on Feb 7, 2022. (TED ALJIBE / AFP)

Philippines 

The Philippines reported 3,077 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,858,838.

The Department of Health said the number of active cases dropped to 33,774, while 29 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, taking  the coronavirus death toll to 61,386.

Singapore Airlines stewardesses walk past a giant lollipop candy display at Changi International Airport in Singapore on April 1, 2022, as Singapore reopened its land and air borders to travelers fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. (ROSLOAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore reported 1,694 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 1,818,560.

Of the new cases, 221 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 1,473 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR cases, 210 were local transmissions and 11 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 1,392 local transmissions and 81 imported cases, respectively.

Four more deaths were reported from COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 1,584, the ministry said.

South Korea

South Korea reported 150,258 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 22,449,475, the health authorities said Tuesday.

The daily caseload was up from 59,046 the previous day and higher than 84,103 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

For the past week, the daily average number of confirmed cases was 135,390.

Fifty-two more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 26,161. The total fatality rate was 0.12 percent.

A man passes walks past a billboard on the coronavirus in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 4, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnam

Vietnam recorded 2,197 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up by 636 from Sunday, according to its Ministry of Health.

All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the health ministry.

The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,386,016. The country reported a new death from the pandemic in the northern Quang Ninh province on Monday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,106.


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