New COVID-19 infections are spiking in several countries in Southeast Asia.
The numbers remain relatively low compared to the experiences of places like the United States, India and Brazil but at least three countries in the area have set new records this week: Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Malaysia set a record for daily new infections on Wednesday nearly 7,500.
The Straits Times reports that on a per capita basis, Malaysia’s rate of daily confirmed cases has already surpassed India’s.
The country’s General Director of Health warned that worse numbers may be ahead and urged people to stay home.
The pace of coronavirus vaccinations in Hawaii is slowing down. That’s also happening elsewhere in the country, but in one part of the world there’s a new
While coronavirus restrictions have eased in many parts of the United States, face masks are still required in public in Hawaii. That’s also the case in
Authorities in Japan are on the verge of approving at least one more vaccine for the coronavirus. Right now, only the Pfizer vaccine has been cleared for
Restrictions have been tightened again in Singapore.
As of yesterday, people are only allowed out in groups of two dine-in restaurants are closed, wedding receptions are banned and other new rules are in place for at least the next four weeks.
This follows an uptick in local COVID-19 cases with at least 11 active clusters.
Vaccinations are moving ahead in Singapore, with about a third of the population having at least one shot and more than 20% fully vaccinated.
The pace is much slower elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
In Vietnam, government figures show less than 1% of the population is vaccinated, while in Thailand it’s about 2%.