Health workers take samples for COVID-19 testing (Source: www.straitstimes.com)


Singapore (VNA) –
Singapore reported 151 new COVID-19 cases on June 16, the lowest daily tally since April 8, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.

They included two community cases, while migrant workers living in dormitories made up the vast majority of the other cases.

A total 40,969 people in Singapore have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including 30,366 recoveries and 26 deaths.

Singapore scientists said they are testing a COVID-19 vaccine from a US firm and plan to start human trials in August after promising initial responses in mice.

In the last 24 hours, Indonesia reported 1,106 new infections and 33 fatalities, bringing the total to 40,400 and 2,231, respectively.

Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the economy is projected to slip 3.1 percent in Q2 2020, the lowest quarterly growth since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

The deceleration was due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has dashed economic activities, the minister said, adding that partial lockdowns along with social distancing have contributed to the downshift.

Meanwhile, there were 364 new confirmed cases and five deaths in the Philippines, adding up to the national tally of 26,781 infections and 1,103 deaths.

Malaysia, which saw a total of 8,505 COVID-19 cases, had no cases to report on the day.

Thailand confirmed neither new cases nor deaths on June 16, marking the 22nd consecutive days without community transmissions. The country had a death toll of 58 out of 3,135 cases./.

VNA