ASEAN COVID-19 PANDEMIC UPDATES: PART 1: BRUNEI TO MALAYSIA- Here we provide updated information on cases in Asean, new cases, total cases, new deaths and total deaths.
COVID-19 infection crosses 84.9 million globally as deaths cross more than 1.84 million.
.
FROM ASEANEWS.NET:
![](https://aseanews.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/N6-300x169.jpg)
.
The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 218 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances.
.
Cases globally: 84,899,639:
Deaths: 1,842,222:
Recovered: 59,992,249.
.
.
Ads by: Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
@[email protected]
SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT
Coronavirus Cases globally : 84,899,639: Deaths: 1,842,222: Recovered: 59,992,249.
.
Here is the ASEAN status as of Sunday, 7am, January 3, 2021
.
Ads by: Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
@[email protected]
SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT
.
BRUNEI-
Brunei had +0 new cases, has a total of 157 with 3 deaths.
.
15 new imported cases found
Brunei Darussalam yesterday recorded 15 new imported COVID-19 cases, arriving on the same flight from the United Kingdom (UK).
No new strains of COVID-19 were detected among them, said Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar during a press conference yesterday.
.
<>
.
CAMBODIA-
There has been +1 new positive case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Cambodia. The tally is at 379. No deaths. Total recovered at 362.
Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand get nod for registration from Thai cabinet
The Thai Cabinet has approved a request by its Interior Ministry to allow the registration of hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to register for legal employment.
This appears to be part of Thailand’s concerted efforts to contain the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases.
The registration process is opened from 15 January and will continue until 13 February.
The currently illegal migrant workers can register via the Labour Ministry’s Department of Employment.
As per mandatory employment requirements, each worker will be thoroughly screened for COVID-19 and other communicable diseases as stated in the requirements.
Once passing the health screening, the workers can submit work permit applications before 13 September and are required to be registered as resident non Thai nationals.
The deadline for this exercise is 12 November 2021 and includes children of the workers All children will also be screened for entitlement for health insurance coverage for two years.
As of late September, around 1.1 million Cambodian workers continued to live and work in Thailand, according to the Cambodian Embassy in Thailand.
There are between 2.3-2.5 million legal migrant workers in Thailand, while up to a million more are believed to be living and working illegally in the country, according to experts’ estimates.
.
Ads by: Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
@[email protected]
SPACE RESERVE FOR ADVERTISEMENT
.
<>
INDONESIA-
.The country reported +7,203 new infections, taking the totals to 758,473 infections with +226 new deaths, bringing total to 22,555 deaths.
.
Indonesia Begins Distributing 3 Million Doses of Coronavirus Vaccine
BY :DINA MANAFE, HERU ANDRIYANTO
JANUARY 03, 2021
Jakarta. Indonesia’s state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma began distributing 3 million doses of vaccine against coronavirus to all 34 provinces on Sunday.
The vaccine, developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, has been approved for emergency use by the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM).
“We are distributing the vaccine to 34 provinces from today after of course everything has been prepared. Health service facilities across the country have prepared the cold chain network,” government spokesman Bambang Herianto said in a video conference in Jakarta.
The Sinovac vaccine must be kept at between 2 degrees and 8 degrees Celsius.
Bambang said mass vaccination is not new to Indonesia, expressing confidence that the initial distribution process would run smoothly across the country.
“The vaccine’s quality is guaranteed because it’s being distributed at a low temperature until reaching the final destination namely the public health centers,” Bambang said.
In the initial vaccine distribution, the Health Ministry is collaborating with the military, the National Police and the Transportation Ministry, Bambang said.
The government has targeted to vaccinate at least 181 million of the country’s 270 million population, with health workers given the top priority.
The vaccine will be distributed to 13,000 public health centers or Puskesmas, 2,500 hospitals and 49 health offices at seaports across the sprawling archipelago.
Indonesia has recorded a total of 765,350 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the outbreak started, with an additional 6,877 cases on Sunday.
![(Click for a full view)](https://img.beritasatu.com/cache/jakartaglobe/960x620-4/2021/01/1609671263.jpg)
The total number of active cases currently stands at 110,679 or 14.5 percent of the overall cases.
The virus has killed 22,734 people in the country, which reported a further 179 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The seven-day average of coronavirus-related deaths has topped 200 for the sixth straight day. The daily death toll has been in three-digit territory since Nov. 22, a span of 42 consecutive days.
Central Java has reported the most deaths during the deadliest period of the Indonesian outbreak and now is ranked second with a total of 3,749 Covid deaths.
East Java has recorded the highest death toll, which exceeded 6,000 on Sunday after adding another 50 more deaths.
Jakarta is ranked third with 3,326 deaths, followed by West Java (1,178), East Kalimantan (763), North Sumatra (683) and South Sulawesi (607).
![(Click for a full view)](https://img.beritasatu.com/cache/jakartaglobe/960x620-4/2021/01/1609671277.jpg)
The four provinces in Java also make up the majority of overall cases nationwide.
Jakarta has recorded a staggering 189,243 cases since the outbreak, even bigger than the combined cases from two provinces closest to its total.
The capital city has been averaging 1,902 cases in the past week.
West Java has seen a dramatic surge in newly cases since early December to overtake East Java in the second place. The daily total in the country’s most populous province has topped 1,000 in the last six days, bringing its total to 87,482.
East Java has recorded 599 new cases in the 24-hour period, its lowest daily number since Dec. 8, to take its total to 86,361.
Coronavirus cases are rising fast in East Java, which averaged 718 in December in comparison to an average of 314 a month earlier.
Central Java has been outpacing East Java since November, recording a total of 84,512 cases as of Sunday to cut the gap further.
![(Click for a full view)](https://img.beritasatu.com/cache/jakartaglobe/960x620-4/2021/01/1609671304.jpg)
South Sulawesi set a new all-time high of 595 cases to bring its total to 32,782, the biggest number outside Java. That means all the top five worst-affected provinces are experiencing an ongoing surge in newly cases.
The virus is also spreading faster in Banten and Yogyakarta, two remaining provinces in the most-crowded island of Java, and in East Kalimantan and Bali.
Banten is now ranked ninth among provinces with the most cases while Yogyakarta saw its total number of cases more than double in just a month.
The surge is slowing in Sumatra Island, including in Riau and North and West Sumatra, which currently are inside the top ten.
![(Click for a full view)](https://img.beritasatu.com/cache/jakartaglobe/960x620-4/2021/01/1609671290.jpg)
<>
LAOS-
.
The country reported +0 new case recorded, total at 41. No deaths.
.
Frontline medical staff vaccinated, more Covid-19 vaccines expected
Some frontline medical workers have been vaccinated against Covid-19 thanks to China’s provision of 2,000 doses of vaccine, the Minister of Health has said.
The first round of vaccinations has been administered to volunteer medical staff, according to Associate Prof. Dr Bounkong Syhavong.
“The vaccinations produced good results and no adverse side effects have been reported so far,” Dr Bounkong said in a press statement issued on December 31.
The vaccine has been developed by China’s Sinopharm and is among 10 Covid-19 vaccines listed in the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) procedure of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
So far, no Covid-19 vaccine has been officially certified for its safety and effectiveness by the WHO.
The Emergency Use Listing procedure has been drawn up by the WHO to expedite the availability of vaccines to people affected by a public health emergency, according to Dr Bounkong, who is Deputy Head of the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.
The vaccines listed in the EUL do not cause any serious side effects and about 95 percent of people vaccinated have developed antibodies that suppress the virus. People given the Sinopharm vaccine need two injections.
The vaccine provides immunity against Covid-19 for a period of three years and can be stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius, the minister said. “China has vaccinated millions of its citizens with good results,” Dr Bounkong said.
Another 500 doses of Sputnik V, a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, arrived in Laos on January 2. This vaccine is also included in the WHO’s Emergency Use Listing.
“We are getting ready to administer the Sputnik V vaccine and preparing freezers to store it,” the minister said in the statement, adding that the Russian vaccine must be stored at -18 to -20 degrees Celsius.
People given the Sputnik vaccine also need two doses and will develop immunity to Covid-19 for two years.
Laos also expects to receive Covid-19 vaccines from the Gavi COVAX Facility – an initiative working to ensure global equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Vaccines funded by the COVAX Facility are expected to be administered in April when about 1.4 million people representing 20 percent of the population will be vaccinated.
Dr Bounkong said Laos is one of 92 countries that will be given vaccines in the form of a grant from the Gavi COVAX Facility.
People in at-risk groups will be given priority in receiving vaccinations. They include frontline workers such as medical staff including nurses and volunteers, elderly people, those with a chronic illness, and migrant workers.
In addition to the vaccines provided by other governments and the COVAX Facility, the Lao government has allocated a budget for the purchase of more vaccines, to be supplemented by financial assistance from donors. The ultimate aim is for the whole population to be vaccinated and re-vaccinated every two or three years.
It is estimated that it will cost almost US$18 to immunise just one person, meaning that almost US$100 million is required to vaccinate everyone, according to the minister, citing an estimation made jointly by the Ministry of Health, the World Bank, WHO and Unicef.
BySouksakhone Vaenkeo
(Latest Update January 4, 2021)
MALAYSIA-
.The country reported +2,295 new cases, taking the total to 117,373, with +9 new deaths, total deaths at 483.
.
VACCINATION:
National vaccination plan to be finalised this Thursday – Khairy
![National vaccination plan to be finalised this Thursday - Khairy National vaccination plan to be finalised this Thursday - Khairy](http://www.thesundaily.my/binrepository/768x513/0c81/768d432/none/11808/TUFK/vac_1954818_20210103215948.jpg 768w,//www.thesundaily.my/binrepository/640x428/0c68/640d360/none/11808/TUJE/vac_1954818_20210103215948.jpg 640w,//www.thesundaily.my/binrepository/512x342/0c54/512d288/none/11808/TUJD/vac_1954818_20210103215948.jpg 512w,//www.thesundaily.my/binrepository/384x257/0c41/384d216/none/11808/TUPL/vac_1954818_20210103215948.jpg 384w,//www.thesundaily.my/binrepository/300x200/0c32/300d169/none/11808/TUQY/vac_1954818_20210103215948.jpg 300w)
REMBAU: The National Vaccination Plan scheduled to start in February will be finalised this Thursday, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Khairy Jamaluddin said.
He said this would be discussed in the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Committee Meeting to be chaired jointly by him and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
“We aim to launch the implementation plan when we have acquired supplies of the Covid-19 vaccine,” he told reporters after the Rembau Division Umno Delegates Meeting, here today.
This is a comprehensive plan which covers the period before the vaccines are received including the hospitals that can be registered to have access to the vaccine as well as the transportation and storage of the vaccines.
In the meantime, he said MOSTI was also drafting a Low Touch Economy Plan in collaboration with several ministries including the Works Ministry and Housing and Local Government Ministry to avoid risk of the public getting Covid-19.
He said this long term plan which would bring changes to the economic environment would focus on the development and use of robotics which would eliminate the need to touch surfaces.
“People no longer have to meet in crowded places and close contacts will be reduced,” he said adding that these measures would help to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases. -Bernama
.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR EMAIL
.
The most important news of the day about the ASEAN Countries and the world in one email: aseanews.net