COVID-19 pandemic still sees complicated developments in regional nations

Thailand’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has announced to extend the state of emergency to the end of July to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Medical workers conduct COVID-19 vaccinations in Phnom Penh on May 12, 2021

On May 21, the country reported 3,481 new cases, raising the total tally to 123,066, and 32 new fatalities, taking the death toll to 735 so far, according to the CCSA.

The capital city of Bangkok continued to post the highest number of infections, at 1,036, with 15 construction workers here found to be infected by the COVID-19 variant first detected in India.

Meanwhile in Cambodia, following the Phnom Penh authorities lifting the red zone status for areas with high risk of COVID-19 infection, many other provinces also made similar moves.

On May 21, the Cambodian Ministry of Health recorded 460 new COVID-19 cases, including 15 imported ones. As such, the national tally stood at 24,157, of which 16,524 patients recovered and 165 died.

Meanwhile, Indonesia will roll out COVID-19 vaccinations for 250,000 people with disabilities and psychological disorders in phase three of its national immunisation programme, which mainly targets vulnerable people. This phase is expected to start in June.

In Laos, the Ministry of Health confirmed 12 new cases of COVID-19 on May 21. Of the total, five were domestic infections, while the rest were imported and immediately quarantined.

 The new infections brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in Laos to 1,763, including 80 recoveries and two deaths./.

VNA