New developments in COVID-19 fight in Southeast Asian nations

Frozen meat - Illustrative image (Source: aec.utcc.ac.th)

Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon said that the PM has agreed with the request submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The request was made after COVID-19 was found on frozen meat imported from India.

Sakhon did not mention specific countries which will be listed on the ban or when it takes effect.

The Cambodian Health Ministry announced 765 new COVID-19 infections on July 29, including 328 imported ones, raising the national tally to 75,917.

On the day, spokesperson of the Indonesian Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi stated that the country has so far detected 923 cases with the local variant of the SARS-CoV-2, B14662.

Nadia said the variant has been identified since November 2020 in a number of Indonesian provinces. She also confirmed that the local variant was included in the Alerts for Further Monitoring category of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The country’s COVID-19 Task Force said on July 29 that it will deploy 17,000-18,000 persons to trace possible contacts with COVID-19 patients nationwide, starting from August.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Health Ministry sounded the alarm about Bangkok’s dire lack of hospital beds and isolation facilities as COVID-19 cases and deaths soared to a new record.

The Southeast Asian country is struggling to contain its latest outbreak fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, with infections and deaths skyrocketing and the health care system stretched thin.

On July 29, Thailand has reported 17,669 new COVID-19 cases and additional 165 fatalities, bringing the national counts to more than 561,000 and 4,562, respectively./.

VNA