ASEAN IN FOCUS

Thai hospitals short of beds as Covid cases soar: ministry

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s health ministry sounded the alarm over Bangkok’s dire lack of hospital beds and isolation facilities on Thursday as Covid-19 cases and deaths soared to a new record. The Southeast Asian country is struggling to contain its latest outbreak fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant, with infections and deaths skyrocketing and the healthcare system stretched thin. Despite the hardest-hit provinces being placed under severe restrictions and a nighttime curfew, […]

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Indonesia reports record 2,069 virus deaths in 24 hours

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia reported a record 2,069 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours Tuesday as the Southeast Asian nation faces its deadliest Covid-19 surge since the pandemic began. Tuesday’s grim tally was nearly 600 deaths higher than the previous day and topped last week’s daily record 1,566 deaths, the health ministry said. New infections also shot up to just over 45,000, from about 28,000 on Monday. The eye-watering data comes after Indonesia this week […]

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Indonesia loosens Covid-19 curbs despite warnings of another wave

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Small shops, streetside restaurants and some shopping malls reopened in coronavirus-battered Indonesia on Monday after the government loosened a shutdown despite warnings it could unleash another Covid-19 wave. President Joko Widodo said Sunday that a partial lockdown imposed in early July would continue until August 2 even as the highly infectious Delta variant tears across the vast archipelago nation, which has overtaken India and Brazil to become the global pandemic epicentre. […]

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6.2-magnitude quake strikes off Indonesia’s Sulawesi: USGS

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage. The strong quake hit offshore at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), about 100 kilometres west of the town of Luwuk. Tremors were felt in Palu on Sulawesi, some 200 kilometres from the epicentre, an AFP journalist in the city said. […]

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Malaysia emergency to end as parliament sits after virus shutdown

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s government will not extend a controversial coronavirus state of emergency beyond August 1, a minister said Monday, as parliament convened after a months-long suspension that sparked widespread anger. The king in January declared the country’s first nationwide state of emergency in more than half a century to fight Covid-19, following the advice of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. It allowed the government to rule by decree and suspend parliament, prompting […]

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AstraZeneca searching for vaccines for virus-hit Southeast Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Drugmaker AstraZeneca said Saturday it was scouring its supply chain to find more doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for Southeast Asia, which is facing its most serious outbreak yet of the virus. The statement from the Anglo-Swedish company — which produces its vaccine in Thailand for use domestically and in neighbouring countries — comes in the wake of a supply shortage which has sparked heavy criticism of Thai Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s […]

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Hanoi goes into lockdown as virus cases soar

  HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam locked down eight million people in Hanoi on Saturday, the latest attempt to curb a serious coronavirus outbreak that has already forced a third of the country to stay home. Authorities reported more than 7,000 new infections across the nation on Friday — the third record number of daily infections in a week. The centre of the normally bustling capital was empty and shops were shuttered as the lockdown […]

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Covid cases surge in Asia as Delta wreaks havoc worldwide

by Agnes Anya, with AFP bureaus JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia, Iran and France were suffering alarming surges in coronavirus cases Tuesday, as governments raced to vaccinate populations in a bid to outpace the highly-contagious Delta variant wreaking havoc across the globe. The new cases come as the head of the Olympics admitted Tuesday he suffered “sleepless” nights leading up to the Tokyo Games, due to open Friday and already marred by outbreaks. Nearly 3.7 […]

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Indonesians gather to pray for Eid al-Adha despite virus surge

  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesians prayed outside mosques and slaughtered goats to commemorate a sombre Eid al-Adha festival on Tuesday despite efforts to stop mass gatherings as coronavirus deaths skyrocket. This week marks the second time during the pandemic that the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation has celebrated the Feast of Sacrifice, which signals the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Authorities have banned large crowds, including at traditional events that feature the sacrifice […]

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Confidante of Myanmar’s Suu Kyi dies after contracting Covid in junta jail

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — A confidante of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and stalwart democracy campaigner died Tuesday after becoming infected with Covid-19 in prison, authorities said. Nyan Win, a veteran senior member and former spokesperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party — led by Suu Kyi — was 78. He had been arrested after the February 1 coup removed the NLD from power and was held in Yangon’s notorious Insein […]

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Indonesia reports record number of COVID deaths at over 1,300 in 24 hours

Indonesia overtaking India as Asia’s COVID-19 epicenter   Skyrocketing Covid-19 infections and deaths are hammering hospitals in Indonesia which is overtaking India as Asia’s coronavirus epicentre. Desperate patients lining up at hospitals for days before getting proper treatment, as the government has advised infected people with mild symptomps to self quarantine. Many, however, ended up dying at homes. Workers from local community health centers and volunteers have taken the job to go house to house […]

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