Singapore and Indonesia are facing a surge in Covid-19 cases, prompting some experts and officials to call for the return of masks, airport scanners and other preventive measures. Singapore reported 1,650 new infections on Wednesday, the highest daily tally since the pandemic began. The city state has been easing restrictions since October, when it shifted to a strategy of living …

There is no direct evidence that COVID-19 broke out from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan, says an intelligence report that was released by U.S. officials on Friday. The report comes after lawmakers in the U.S. pressured intelligence officials to declassify information related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), in China. The Congress, in a bill passed in March, had …

Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on February 28 that the Philippines would get 1,002,000 doses of bivalent coronavirus vaccinations from the worldwide COVAX facility. “The EUA for bivalent vaccinations that will be supplied to us has already been issued,” Vergeire added, referring to emergency use authorisation. Pfizer is donating the bivalent vaccines from COVAX. Bivalent COVID-19 …

JAPAN: Coronavirus cases appear to be spreading swiftly across Japan, prompting the country’s health ministry to issue a public health alert and urge residents to exercise extra caution ahead of the forthcoming long weekend and upcoming summer school breaks. Japan’s new COVID-19 cases have climbed to levels not seen since early this year, with Tokyo reporting 16,878 new cases on …

US: COVID is making a resurgence. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that the pandemic is “nowhere near ending,” and expressed alarm that the virus is running free. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern that the number of cases was increasing, putting further strain on already taxed health institutions and staff. According to a news conference, “new waves of the virus …

THAILAND: Adi Mohammad, a resident of Singapore and a lifelong motorcyclist, is an expert in his field. Until the COVID-19 outbreak made traveling abroad difficult, he spent the last two decades riding throughout the world. He was unable to travel to Thailand, his favorite vacation spot, for more than two years. A month on leave and COVID-19 guidelines that allow …

HONG KONG: There was “unnecessary bother and discomfort” for Hong Kong residents, the government said on Thursday, suspending an individual flying restriction for COVID-19-infected travelers (Jul 7). Flights have been restricted in the city more than 100 times this year. Businesses and individuals who had become accustomed to the ease and efficiency of transit in the former British colony found …

Malaysia – In the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2021 exam, a total of 9,696 applicants received exceptional scores (A+, A, and A-) in all subjects, according to Director-General of Education Datuk Nor Zamani Abdol Hamid. She stated the National Average Grade (GPN) for this year was 4.86 as she announced the SPM 2021 results here today. Better performance is indicated …

ASEAN – This weekend, most inhabitants in China’s economic capital of Shanghai will be subjected to an unexpected round of Covid-19 testing, only 10 days after a city-wide lockdown was lifted, disturbing citizens and raising fears about the effect on business. Shanghai authorities said on Thursday that owing to the identification of a few cases in the neighborhood, seven of …

Malaysia – According to Senior Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin, the Education Ministry would stop utilizing the Form 3 Assessment (PT3) this year. To replace formal testing, Radzi said his government would implement more school- and class-based evaluations. The Covid-19 outbreak, which compelled schools to shut and lessons to move online, wreaked havoc on national exams, including the PT3. “PMR (Penilaian …