Malaysia former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad waves after a press conference at his office of Perdana Foundation in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on May 18, 2020. (VINCENT THIAN / AP)

HANOI / SINGAPORE / MANILA / YANGON / KUALA LUMPUR / NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was discharged from hospital on Sunday after being admitted for COVID-19, his office said in a statement.

The 97-year-old, who served for more than two decades as premier and is still an active lawmaker, has a history of heart troubles. He has had heart attacks and bypass surgeries.

Mahathir, admitted to the National Heart Institute on Wednesday after testing positive for the coronavirus, will remain quarantined at home until Tuesday, the statement said.

He has received at least three doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the last known shot in November 2021, according to earlier comments from him and government officials.

The nonagenarian, a trained physician, underwent an elective medical procedure in January and was readmitted to the hospital later that month for treatment. The National Heart Institute did not say at the time what procedure he had undergone.

After serving as prime minister for 22 years until 2003, Mahathir returned as premier at the age of 92 in 2018 after leading the opposition coalition to a historic win, defeating the party that he had once led. His government collapsed in less than two years.

Malaysia reported 2,244 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Saturday, bringing the national total to 4,789,552, according to the health ministry.

Another nine deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,243.

India

India's daily COVID-19 caseload Sunday decreased to 6,809, taking the total tally to 44,456,535 in the country, according to federal health ministry data released on Sunday morning.

With the reporting of fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 55,114.

The country also logged 26 related deaths during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 527,991 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.

Volunteers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carry the body of a victim of the coronavirus to a cemetery in Hlegu Township in Yangon on July 10, 2021. (YE AUNG THU / AFP)

Myanmar 

Myanmar confirmed 90 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 615,489, according to the Ministry of Health on Saturday.

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

It added that health authorities tested 8,323 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 1.08 percent.

The death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,439 as no new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

Pakistan

Pakistan recorded 228 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the country's overall number of confirmed cases to 1,570,016, its ministry of health said on Sunday.

The new infections were detected after diagnostic testing was performed on 19,041 samples.

A total of 30,591 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with three more deaths reported on Saturday, said the ministry.

Philippines

The Philippines reported 2,812 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,889,160.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases dipped to 23,571, while 52 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 61,962.

Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 873 new cases.

A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore reported 1,549 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 1,844,785.

Of the new cases, 220 cases were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 1,329 through antigen rapid tests (ART), according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR cases, 196 were local transmissions and 24 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 1,253 local transmissions and 76 imported cases, respectively.

Vietnam

Vietnam recorded 1,596 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, up by 48 from Friday, according to its ministry of health.

Among the new cases, only one was imported and the rest were locally transmitted, said the health ministry.

The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,417,503. The country reported one new death from the pandemic in the central Khanh Hoa province on Saturday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,119.