Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in an effort to counter the spread of the COVID-19 in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on March 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / SEOUL / ISLAMABAD / NEW DELHI / TOKYO - Brunei logged a daily average of 434 new COVID-19 cases in the past week compared to 503 cases per day the week before, marking a decrease for three consecutive weeks, official statistics released on Monday showed.

According to the health ministry's weekly briefing, 38,422 antigen rapid test (ART) results were uploaded to the government platform during the past week, with 7.8 percent of them being positive.

On Monday 388 new cases were reported, including 384 detected by ART tests.

Currently, no hospitalized cases are held in the intensive care unit or  require oxygen assistance, the health ministry said.

As of Dec 11, 78.9 percent of Brunei's population have received three doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 11.3 percent have taken a fourth dose.

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India

India's federal health ministry said on Tuesday the country's daily COVID-19 caseload decreased to 114, with no related death reported during the past 24 hours.

This is the second straight day that no death due to COVID-19 was reported.

On Nov 8, for the first time since March 2020, no death due to the pandemic was reported from across the country in the span of 24 hours.

According to the health ministry, the overall death toll remains at 530,658 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The cases reported on Tuesday marked a decrease in comparison to the daily caseload of Monday which stood at 159.

Isao Teshirogi, president and CEO of Shionogi & Co Ltd, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo, Japan on June 11, 2019. (ISSEI KATO / REUTERS)

Japan

Shionogi & Co Ltd said on Tuesday the Japanese government agreed to purchase an additional 1 million doses of its oral treatment for COVID-19.

Shionogi previously agreed to sell a million doses of the drug, a protease inhibitor known as ensitrelvir and commercially as Xocova, to the government pending approval. The added supply agreement comes at a time when Japan is dealing with an eighth wave of COVID-19 infections.

Regulators granted emergency approval for Xocova last month. They had previously postponed approval saying they wanted to see more data on its effectiveness and amid concerns that the drug could pose a risk to pregnancies, based on results from animal studies.

Xocova is an oral antiviral agent taken once daily for five days to suppress replication of the virus.

The drug is Japan's first domestically developed oral drug for patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms. Other pill-based treatments developed by Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co were previously approved for use in Japan.

Shionogi said it expected the expanded supply deal to have a limited impact on its results in the year through March 2023.

Pakistan

Pakistan recorded seven new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

According to data released by the ministry, the overall tally of infected people increased to 1,575,487 across the country after adding the new cases.

A total of 30,635 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with no more deaths recorded during the last 24 hours, according to the ministry's statistics.

A man shops for face masks in Divisoria, a local shopping district in Manila on May 17, 2022. (JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

Philippines

The Philippines reported 1,115 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 4,050,045.

The Department of Health said the number of active cases rose to 18,355, while 22 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 64,902.

Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 387 new cases.

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 740 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 2,181,788.

A total of 110 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with six of them held in intensive care units, according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.

No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Monday, leaving the total death toll unchanged at 1,707.

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South Korea

South Korea reported 86,852 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 27,841,001, the health authorities said Tuesday.

It marked the highest daily cases in 90 days since Sept 14 amid rising worry about the resurgence in winter.

The daily caseload was sharply up from 22,667 in the prior day and higher than 77,590 tallied a week ago, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

For the past week, the daily average number of new cases was 61,750.

Twenty-nine more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 31,128.  

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 383 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up 189 from Sunday, according to its ministry of health.

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

The new infections brought the total tally to 11,521,022. The Southeast Asian country reported no new deaths from the pandemic on Monday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,178.