COVID-19: Laos logs lower number of daily cases, Philippines reopens 100 shools

Laos saw its number of daily COVID-19 cases dropping by 159 on November 15 compared to the previous day, while the Philippines began a pilot scheme to resume in-person classes for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, with an initial number of 100 schools.

A COVID-19 test site in Laos' Vientiane. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

The Lao Ministry of Health confirmed 826 new cases and five deaths on the day.

The local pandemic hotspot Vientiane recorded the highest number of cases nationwide, at 292, which was down by 197 cases from November 14.

The nation’s total caseload and death toll have so far reached 55,018 and 104, respectively.

In the Philippines, which has shut down schools since March to prevent the spreading of the pandemic, 100 out of more than 61,000 public schools have been selected for the two-month trial, which is expected to be expanded in the coming weeks, education officials said.

Many of the schools are located in remote, mountainous or island communities considered to be low risk for virus transmission.

The country has to date posted more than 2.8 million cases of COVID-19, with nearly 30 percent of its 110-million population fully vaccinated so far.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on November 14 announced quarantine-free travel for all fully vaccinated inbound passengers starting Novemrber 15 after most of the country's population has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The local health ministry logged 52 cases of infections and five deaths on November 15.

In Thailand, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has allowed schools to offer in-person lectures starting from November 15, after over 80 percent of secondary school students in the area have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and the number of daily infections have declined continually.

Schools that will reopen must comply to Ministry of Education’s “Sandbox: Safety Zone in School” measures, said Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang on November 14 via a Facebook post.

On the morning of November 15, Thailand recorded an additional 6,343 new cases and 45 deaths, including 790 new infections and one death in Bangkok./.

VNA