Asean reported over 42,000 Covid-19 cases on Thursday
The number of Covid-19 cases crossed 12.41 million across Southeast Asia, with 42,279 new cases reported on Thursday (October 7), lower than Wednesday’s tally at 41,066. New deaths are at 583, increasing from Wednesday’s number of 472. Total Covid-19 deaths in Asean are now at 266,727.
Singapore’s Ministry of Education announced that year-end examinations for Primary 3 and 4 pupils will be cancelled due to rising Covid-19 infections in the community. The measure will affect about 79,000 pupils in Primary 3 and Primary 4 this year. However, Primary 5 year-end examinations will continue under safe management measures.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is planning to allow vaccinated travellers to visit key tourist destinations from December 2021 under certain restrictions. The attractions include the UNESCO world heritage site Halong Bay, highland town Hoi An, and the beaches of Nha Trang. This is in addition to the government's plan to reopen the resort island of Phu Quoc to tourists in November 2021, a move which is already delayed from October due to low vaccination rates in the country.