Officials recorded 5,775 new cases, prompting the Ministry
of Public Health to raise the official warning level to 4 on a scale of 5,
permanent secretary Kiatiphume Wongrajit said. The warning level had been at 3
since the end of December.
Under level 4, the ministry recommends closing high-risk
venues, including those with poor ventilation, increasing restrictions on
interprovincial travel, limiting group sizes in public places and lengthening
quarantine requirements for travelers entering Thailand.
The ministry has submitted a proposal to the Center for
COVID-19 Situation Administration, chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha,
to ramp up virus restrictions due to the jump in cases. The CCSA is to meet on
Friday and is expected to make a decision on the new measures.
In developments elsewhere in Asia:
VIETNAM
Vietnam continues to ease virus restrictions in some major
cities despite well over 10,000 new cases reported nationwide each day in
recent weeks.
Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest metropolis, allowed
entertainment venues including bars and karaoke lounges to reopen on Wednesday.
They had earlier been shut in an effort to curb the outbreak.
In Hanoi, non-essential businesses are still required to be
closed, as the capital leads the country with over 2,000 new cases a day.
Despite the rising number of new infections, hospitalization
rates have not spiked. According to the Health Ministry, 84% of recent virus
deaths occurred in people who were either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated.
After a slow start, 97% of adults are now fully vaccinated
with two shots. Vietnam is speeding up vaccinations for children to ensure that
schools can reopen safely. Nationwide, 72% of the country’s 98 million people
have been vaccinated.
Boosters have also been given to front-line medical workers
and people over the age of 55. Some 7.5 million booster shots have been
administered, the ministry said.
Vietnam has resumed international air travel and further
relaxed quarantine rules for people entering the country. The latest
regulations require that fully vaccinated travelers be quarantined for three
days. Those who are not vaccinated must quarantine for seven days.
CHINESE BORDER AREAS
COVID-19 has caused major disruptions in trade along China’s
borders with its Southeast Asian neighbors, particularly with the country’s
prevention regime targeting food products, especially perishables such as
tropical fruit and frozen items including fish and shrimp.
State media reports say Longbang port, in China’s Guangxi
region along the border with Vietnam, has suspended imports of refrigerated
food and other commodities since Dec. 25. In a Dec. 31 video meeting between
Guangxi officials and Vietnam‘s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Chinese side
proposed ways to improve the situation, but it wasn’t clear how they would be
implemented.
Trade in goods such as electronics, household items and
chemical products that are transported in shipping containers appears
unaffected, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a trade
agreement which went into force on Jan. 1, is expected to boost such commerce.
The situation is as bad or worse along the Chinese-Myanmar
border, where rotting watermelons and other fruit have been dumped by truckers
unable to get their produce into China.
PHILIPPINES
The Philippines reported 17,220 new infections on Thursday,
up sharply from 10,775 a day earlier, the Department of Health said, bringing
total confirmed cases in the country to 2,888,917.
The test positivity rate also rose to a record 36.9%, up
from 31.7% on Wednesday, the department’s data showed. That means more than 1
in 3 people tested that day were infected, after the rate spiked from below 1%
just two weeks ago. The country reported 81 deaths on Thursday.
Officials say they assume that local transmission of the
highly contagious omicron variant is driving the current spike in cases.
The government has imposed stricter COVID-19 measures in the
region around Manila and three nearby provinces, placing them under level 3 in
the five-step alert system until Jan. 15. A fourth province will be under the
same level starting Friday.
Under level 3, prohibited activities include in-person
classes, live voice and wind instrument events, contact sports and fairs.
Casino operations and in-residence gatherings of people who do not belong to
the same household are also not allowed. Restaurants, gyms, barbershops and
other establishments can operate at 30% capacity indoors for fully vaccinated
customers and 50% outdoors.
A council of mayors in the capital region has also banned
unvaccinated people from going outside their homes except for essential trips.
Cabinet officials leading the country’s COVID-19 response have said they are
recommending the policy be expanded to cover to the rest of the country.
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