Laos urges high-risk groups to get COVID-19 vaccines

Spraying disinfectant solution to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Vientiane, Laos (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Vientiane (VNA) - Laos’s National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control has urged high-risk groups to go to health facilities to be vaccinated in the context that the country has recorded an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in recent days.

The Lao Ministry of Health on October 10 reported 508 new cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, lifting the national tally to 28,540.

According to the ministry, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be complicated in Vientiane when the capital city confirmed a spike in community cases in one day, with 400 infections.

Notably, recent infections and deaths from COVID-19 in Laos are mostly people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

On the same day, Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported that 89.7 percent of the country's adults have received full two shots of COVID-19 vaccines, equivalent to about 66 percent of its population.

At a press conference on the same day, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the lifting of full interstate travel restrictions beginning October 11.

In a special address, the Prime Minister said the announcement follows the promise made by the government on allowing interstate travel after the overall vaccination rate threshold is reached.

However, the lifting does not apply to areas that are applied the enhanced movement control order (EMCO).

Currently, 70.4 percent of young aged 12-17 in Malaysia have received at least one shots of COVID-19 vaccine.

Malaysian authorities hope that with the increasing vaccine coverage, the country can confidently ease previous restrictions step by step and move to the stage of treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease./.