Deaths from Covid down sharply in Asean
Covid-19 related deaths in Southeast Asia nearly halved on Friday, while there was only a slight increase in new infections, collated data showed.
Asean countries reported 61,840 new cases on Friday, slightly higher than Thursday’s 61,465, while deaths were down to 690 from 1,292 the previous day.
The number of Covid-19 cases crossed 11.77 million and the death toll rose to 257,306.
Laos this week received 30,000 doses of Sputnik Light Covid-19 vaccine as part of humanitarian assistance from the Russian government in response to a request from the Laos government. Laos had first received a shipment of Russia’s original Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine from Russia in January this year. The Sputnik Light vaccine requires only one dose compared to the Sputnik V which requires two shots at an interval of 42 to 180 days.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has pushed back a plan to reopen the resort island of Phu Quoc to foreign tourists until November 20 from the original schedule of October 31, after failing to meet targets for inoculating residents due to insufficient vaccine supplies. The plan aims to open the island for six months of the test run period with up to three chartered planes per week allowed to land. Up to 5,000 tourists were expected to visit the island during this period.