Southeast Asian nations continue to record thousands of new COVID-19 infections

Malaysia's Ministry of Health reported on March 24 that in the past 24 hours, this Southeast Asian country recorded an additional 1,268 cases of COVID-19, including 1,263 community infections.

A Malaysian woman wears a face mask to prevent COVID-19

Malaysia has so far confirmed a total of 336,808 cases positive for SARS-CoV-2, including 1,246 deaths. As many as 320,925 patients have recovered, making up 95.3 percent.

Out of the active 14,700 patients, 161 need treatment in intensive care units and 73 are in need of breathing support.

In Indonesia, the number of COVID-19 cases rose by 5,227 within one day to 1,476,452, with the death toll adding by 118 to 39,983.

West Java remained the largest COVID-19 hotspot in Indonesia, recording 1,329 new cases in the past 24 hours. It was followed by Jakarta 890, Central Java 403, East Java 289 and East Kalimantan 275.

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Ministry of Health announced on March 24 that the total number of SARS-CoV-2-positive cases in the country reached 684,311 after it recorded an additional 6,666 new infections in the previous 24 hours. The death toll increased by 47 to 13,039.

Amid the complicated developments of the pandemic, the Philippines is working to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination programme. The Southeast Asian country has licensed the vaccine of China’s Sinovac pharmaceutical company, the vaccine of the US’s Pfizer, AstraZeneca of the UK and Sputnik V from Russia.

The Philippine government aims to vaccinate 70 million people this year to achieve herb immunity, with priority given to health workers, the elderly and poor communities./.

VNA