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People wait in line to get tested for Covid-19 in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

Coronavirus: from South Korea to Singapore, Omicron-fuelled wave pushes cases to record highs

  • South Korea and Singapore’s daily new Covid-19 infections surged to 90,443 and 19,179, respectively
  • Meanwhile, Japan saw its deadliest day of the pandemic, even as infections continued their downward trend
Agencies

Major Asian economies, including South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia, have seen a rapid increase in coronavirus cases as the highly infectious Omicron variant continues to tear through the region.

South Korea on Wednesday reported a daily record of 90,443 new Covid-19 cases, marking a drastic surge from 57,177 a day before and brought total infections in the country since the pandemic began to 1,552,851.

Deaths remain comparatively low, though, with 39 fatalities on Tuesday and a total of 7,202 so far, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

South Korea has largely been a Covid-19 mitigation success story, thanks mainly to widespread wearing of masks, social distancing and aggressive testing and tracing.

But authorities have shifted testing and tracing policy, in line with the less fatal Omicron variant’s spread, toward self-monitoring and diagnosis and at-home treatment starting this month.

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Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the government was considering easing the current strict distancing curbs which include a 9pm curfew for restaurants, cafes and bars, and a ban on gatherings of more than six vaccinated people.

He also said officials will start distributing free rapid test kits at kindergartens, elementary schools and nursing homes next week to strengthen protection for unvaccinated children and high-risk groups.

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye said schools will be getting enough kits for students to use twice a week, but added that such tests won’t be mandatory.

“We ask for students to be tested at home with the rapid antigen test kits on the evenings of Sunday and Wednesday before coming to school,” Yoo said during a briefing. “When testing positive from those tests, please visit the local health office to get PCR [lab] tests.”

Meanwhile, South Korean boy band BTS are to put on their first shows for their home fans since the pandemic began, with three concerts in the capital, Seoul, next month, their agency said on Wednesday.

The concerts, part of their “Permission to Dance on Stage” tour that has been disrupted by Covid-19, will be at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium on March 10, 12 and 13, and will also be live streamed, Bit Hit Music said.

“We would like to thank all ARMY for patiently waiting for an in-person concert to be held in Korea,” the company said on its online fan platform, Weverse, referring to the band’s global fan base known as Adorable Representative MC for Youth.

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Elsewhere, Singapore logged a record 19,179 local Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. It has reported 191,882 infections over the last 28 days, but 99.7 per cent of them had no or mild symptoms.

Indonesia added the most Covid-19 cases since the pandemic started, as the virus’s spread driven by the Omicron variant outpaces the previous Delta wave.

The country reported 57,049 new infections on Tuesday, with 134 people dying from the disease. Fatalities are lower than during the peak of the Delta wave, when more than 2,000 people died in a day, leading the government to ease some restrictions in cities while still warning people against gathering.

In Malaysia, 22,133 new cases were recorded on Tuesday, the fifth consecutive day with more than 20,000 daily infections.

Health director general Noor Hisham Abdullah said more than 99 per cent of the new cases were asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

A child wearing a superhero costume gets vaccinated against Covid-19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Bernama/dpa

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Malaysia and Brunei will waive a quarantine requirement on travel between the two countries for people vaccinated against Covid-19.

The vaccinated travel lane (VTL) will see the operation of four flights per week between Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Seri Begawan, Ismail Sabri said in a statement on Tuesday.

“A VTL to allow movement over our land borders are also being considered by both countries,” he said.

Ismail Sabri provided no start date for the VTL and said details were still being studied.

Both governments have also agreed to recognise each other’s Covid-19 contact-tracing and information applications to facilitate travel, and to cooperate on research and development for vaccines, he added.

Japan deaths jump

Japan posted its deadliest day of the pandemic, even as new infections from the Omicron-variant fuelled wave declined.

Newly recorded fatalities rose to 236 on Tuesday, according to a tally by national broadcaster NHK, exceeding the previous record of 216 on May 18 last year. Nearly 2,000 people have died of the coronavirus in Japan so far in February.

Tokyo recorded 16 new deaths on Tuesday, most of them 70-90 years old, separate data showed.

Meanwhile, new cases numbered 84,220 across Japan, continuing a decline from record infections posted earlier in the month as Omicron outbreaks spread.

New Zealand cases spike as protesters claim win

New Zealand Covid-19 infections reached a record high on Wednesday as anti-vaccine protesters claimed victory after police failed to clear vehicles blocking the streets around parliament.

Health authorities reported 1,160 new coronavirus cases, the most since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant continues to spread in a country that was largely virus-free until August.

While there have only been 53 virus deaths in the nation of five million, some protesters have taken to the streets railing against Covid-related restrictions and a government vaccination drive.

Demonstrators inspired by Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” jammed roads with cars, trucks and campervans last week, then set up camp on the lawns of parliament in the capital Wellington.

A tense stand-off in the city centre has stretched for nine days, with police largely taking a hand-off approach, aside from violent clashes last Thursday that led to the arrest of 122 protesters.

But law enforcement officials ramped up the rhetoric late Tuesday, describing the protests as “untenable” and saying tow trucks would be used to clear the streets.

02:41

Anti-vaccine protesters clash with New Zealand police outside parliament

Anti-vaccine protesters clash with New Zealand police outside parliament

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said he had asked for the military’s help, warning anyone who obstructed the “imminent” operation that they faced arrest.

However, no tow trucks were deployed on Wednesday, and when a line of police tried to take control of an area near the parked vehicles, they were met by massed demonstrators chanting “whose streets, our streets”.

The protesters cheered when police withdrew behind barricades a short time later.

Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers defended the cautious approach taken by police.

“This remains an incredibly challenging and complex situation to manage, and police are taking care not to escalate matters unnecessarily,” he said.

Police have previously expressed concern about the large number of children in the protest camp, accusing demonstrators of trying to use them as human shields to avoid arrest.

Reporting by Reuters, Agence France-Presse

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