Asean sees jump in new Covid cases and deaths
Southeast Asia reported a jump in new Covid-19 cases and related deaths on Thursday, collated data showed.
Asean countries confirmed 95,081 new cases, higher than Wednesday’s 82,265, while deaths rose to 2,786 from the previous day’s 2,300.
The number of Covid-19 cases crossed 9.04 million across the region with 198,480 deaths
Philippines reported 14,895 new cases and 258 deaths on Thursday, bringing cumulative cases in the country to 1,791,003 and deaths to 30,881.
The Philippine government has allocated 45.3 billion pesos (Bt28 billion) to procure Covid-19 vaccines to be provided as a booster shot or a third jab for those who had earlier received two jabs. Eight brands of vaccine have been approved for this project, including mRNA types such as Pfizer and Moderna.
Meanwhile, Myanmar reported 2,590 new cases and 159 deaths, bringing cumulative cases in the country to 365,759 and the death toll to 13,945. The military government announced that the domestic manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines will start within this year under cooperation with China and Russia. It is estimated that Myanmar will first produce Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine while it is unclear which of China’s vaccines will be chosen for domestic production.