Asean reported over 28,000 new Covid-19 cases on Friday
The number of Covid-19 cases crossed 13.73 million across Southeast Asia, with 28,225 new cases reported on Friday (November 19), lower than Thursday’s tally at 29,302. New deaths are at 524, decreasing from Thursday’s number of 608. Total Covid-19 deaths in Asean are now at 286,895.
Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on November 18 decided to suspend karaoke, disco, massage, spa and bar services just after 2 days of reopening, in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus in the community. The city is also considering cutting short the isolation and treatment period for asymptomatic F0 who have received two vaccine doses and have negative testing results on day 7.
The borders between Singapore and Malaysia will be reopened for quarantine-free travel at scale from November 29, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began rapidly worsening in March last year. Travellers will be able to fly between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme. To qualify, travellers must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with vaccines approved by both countries.