COVID-19 developments remain complicated in regional countries

The Lao Ministry of Health confirmed 46 new COVID-19 cases on May 5, mostly in Vientiane and Bokeo province with 19 and 15 cases, respectively.

COVID-19 vaccination in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

According to the ministry, the decreased number of newly-confirmed cases showed the efficiency of drastic measures applied by the Lao Government.

From May 4, the Lao government decided to apply lockdown for additional 15 days until May 20.

So far, Laos has discovered 1,072 COVID-19 cases, including 99 recoveries and no death.

Meanwhile in Thailand, the pandemic is still developing complicatedly with 2,112 new cases confirmed on May 5 and 15 deaths, raising the total cases to 74,000 cases, with 318 deaths.

Bangkok is still a hot spot of COVID-19 with 789 cases.

In Indonesia, 155,000 soldiers and policemen will be deployed within the framework of Operation Ketupat Jaya 2021 from May 6-17 to minimise the spreading of COVID-19 during the Muslims Eid al-Fitr holidays from May 13-14.

Some 4,276 personnel will be stationed in the capital city and its adjoining areas. The Jakarta Police will deploy these personnel at 14 isolation points and 17 check points.

The Operation Ketupat Jaya 2021 is being conducted to block access to and from Jabodetabek, to maintain security, and to monitor the implementation of health protocols to stem the transmission of the coronavirus disease before, during, and after Eid al-Fitr, among others.

Meanwhile, spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Wiku Adisasmito affirmed that all forms of homecoming activities, including the local homecoming, are banned during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr to lower the rate of COVID-19 infection.

At the same time, Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur will re-apply movement control order (MCO) from May 7. This will be the third time the city is placed in MCO to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malaysian Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that the order is given after 17 new clusters were recorded.

The order will be applied until May 20. Food premises, such as restaurants, food trucks, hawkers and kiosks, are allowed to operate from 6am to midnight only. Dine-ins are not allowed and food served are for delivery and takeaways only.

 Malaysia on May 5 logged 3,744 new cases in the last 24 hours to bring the total to 424,376. There were 17 more deaths, bringing the total fatalities to 1,591.

The MCO was applied for the first time on March 18, 2020 and the second time on January 13, 2021.

The same day, Executive Secretary of the Philippine Presidential Office Salvador Medialdea said that the Southeast Asian country will ban tourists from Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from May 7-14 as part of efforts to prevent the entry of SARS-CoV-2 variants found in India.

Travellers coming directly from those countries, or with a history of travel to any of them within the last 14 days, would be barred from entering, he said.

Earlier, the Philippines banned travelers from India from April 29 to May 14.

On May 5, the country confirmed 5,685 new COVID-19 cases and 178 deaths, raising the count to more than 1 million with 17,800 deaths.

In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen on May 5 ordered to vaccinate more than 52,000 people in all areas in the red zones of Phnom Penh with COVID-19 vaccines, with the administration of the first dose to be completed soon and the second dose to commence once the stipulated time frame has been reached.

To date, more than 1.5 million people have been vaccinated with either Sinopharm, Sinovac or Covishield (AstraZenacca vaccines) since February 10.

The same day, the Cambodian Ministry of Health confirmed 672 new cases, raising the total cases to 16,971, including 110 deaths./.      

VNA