A girl walks past a poster at a vaccination centre in New Delhi on April 10, 2022, after government announced the paid precaution dose against the coronavirus to be available for everyone above 18 years of age at private vaccination centers. (MONEY SHARMA / AFP)
KUALA LUMPUR / NEW DELHI / SINGAPORE / WELLINGTON / YANGON - India's daily COVID-19 caseload Sunday decreased to 14,092, officials said.
According to federal health ministry data released on Sunday, 14,092 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,253,464 in the country.
The cases reported on Sunday mark a decrease in comparison to the daily caseload of Saturday (15,815).
With the reports of the fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 116,861.
The country also logged 41 related deaths during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 527,037 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.
According to the federal health ministry, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage in India has exceeded 2 billion doses and until Sunday morning 2,079,963,555 doses were administered
The ministry said 43,609,566 people have been successfully cured and discharged from hospitals, of whom 16,454 were discharged during the past 24 hours.
According to the federal health ministry, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country has exceeded 2 billion doses and until Sunday morning 2,079,963,555 doses were administered.
With an increase in COVID-19 cases and the positivity rate rising in Delhi, the officials have started forming teams to strictly enforce the wearing of face masks and impose fines on violators.
The federal government stated in the Indian parliament that given the emergence of COVID-19 variants with variable transmissibility and other public health implications, the health ministry was closely following the COVID-19 trajectory globally and in the country.
Health officials attributed the surge in new cases to people letting their guard down and not following social distancing norms.
India's northern state of Punjab on Saturday made wearing of face masks mandatory in public places amid an increase in COVID-19 cases.
The state government has directed all local hospitals, labs and collection centers to upload details of COVID-19 tests.
It also urged residents to take a second or a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine without delay.
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Malaysia
Malaysia reported 4,334 new COVID-19 infections, as of midnight Saturday, bringing the national total to 4,732,502, according to the health ministry.
There are six new imported cases, with 4,328 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.
Another 10 deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,080.
The ministry reported 5,082 new recoveries, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 4,651,805.
There are 44,617 active cases, with 68 being held in intensive care and 44 of those in need of assisted breathing.
The country reported 6,295 vaccine doses administered on Saturday alone, while 86 percent of the population have received at least one dose, 84.1 percent are fully vaccinated, 49.6 percent have received the first booster, and 1.3 percent have received the second booster.
Myanmar
Myanmar has detected 32 new COVID-19 cases with the Omicron BA.2.75, BA.2.76, BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants so far in August, its Ministry of Health said on Saturday.
The ministry's medical research department said in a statement that these cases included 25 infected people who returned from abroad.
According to the ministry, 25 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Southeast Asian country in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 614,360.
Health authorities tested 6,130 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.41 percent.
The ministry also reported another eight new recoveries, bringing the total number of COVID-19 patients cured and discharged to 593,089 in the country.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported 2,618 new community cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers of COVID-19 in New Zealand now sits at 4,302.
In addition, there were 144 new cases of COVID-19 that have recently traveled overseas, according to the ministry.
New Zealand has reported 1,673,183 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. There are now a total of 1,750 deaths confirmed in the country as attributable to COVID-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor, according to the ministry.
New Zealand is currently under the orange settings of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, where there is no limit for gatherings.
A woman walks past signs stating the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for entry into a mall at Raffles Place in Singapore on March 24, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 4,403 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 1,791,046.
Of the new cases, 469 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 3,934 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 3,670 local transmissions and 264 imported cases
Among the PCR cases, 427 were local transmissions and 42 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 3,670 local transmissions and 264 imported cases.
A total of 590 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 22 cases in intensive care units.
Four new deaths were reported from COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total death toll to 1,556, the ministry said.