Vietnamplus

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-lineage BA.5 has entered Vietnam and may overwhelm the old sub-lineage BA.2 which is dominant in the country, according to Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine.

The peak infection of COVID-19 Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 in Indonesia is forecasted to take place in July, a month after the first case was detected, according to Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

Indonesia has detected the first cases of more contagious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of COVID-19 on Bali island.

Germany’s newspaper Finanzmarktwelt has run an article on Vietnam’s full reopening post the COVID-19 pandemic, with rosy signs seen in all sectors.

European firms' confidence in Vietnam has reached the highest level since the fourth COVID-19 outbreak in April last year, according to EuroCham's latest Business Climate Index (BCI) report.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has issued two scenarios for the COVID-19 pandemic based on the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s studies and scientific grounds.

ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors gathered at their 8th meeting (AFMGM) via videoconference on April 8.

The World Bank (WB) has predicted Vietnam’s GDP growth this year at 5.3 percent, down from the previous forecast of 6.5 percent issued last October.

Hanoi has been advised to re-open preschools and primary schools.

The National Taskforce for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Laos has announced that the country is facing a third wave of coronavirus infections.

Singapore’s current Omicron wave has peaked and the number of infections across the country is now declining, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told the Parliament on March 9.

After one year implementing the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Vietnam has administered nearly 198.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines on people living in the country, becoming one of the six countries with the highest vaccination coverage in the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 5 requested the gradual normalisation of the COVID-19 pandemic at a teleconference between the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control with ministries, sectors, and 63 provinces and cities.

Indonesia, as the 2022 host of the Group of 20 economic forum, will introduce a bubble system for the forum’s summit later this year as a precaution against COVID-19, as the government rides out a third wave of infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron strain.

Public hospitals of Laos are prepared to deal with the potential widespread outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, said the country's Health Ministry.

A total 86,990 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours from 4pm February 26 to 4pm February 27, according to the Ministry of Health.

Vietnam recorded 78,795 new infections of COVID-19, including 21 imported cases, in the past 24 hours to 4pm on February 25, up 9,655 cases from the previous day, according the Ministry of Health.

Malaysia reported 32,070 new COVID-19 infections as of 0:00am on February 25, the highest daily spike since the outbreak, bringing the national total to 3,337,227, according to the country's health ministry.

Laos has confirmed a total of 27 cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, including the first infection in the community, the National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said on February 23.

New COVID-19 infections have been on the rise in Ho Chi Minh City in recent days, and Omicron is currently the dominant variant here, according to the city’s centre for disease control (HCDC).