Malaysia – The Selangor Association For Travel and Tourism Agencies (Saftta) today questioned Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s claim that 14% of Muslims who travelled to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage lately had no records of receiving the mandatory Covid-19 vaccination. The umbrella organization representing 580 tourist, travel, hotel, and theme park organizations claimed Khairy’s comments at the January 6 press conference …

Malaysia – According to Khairy Jamaluddin, a Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) epidemiological prediction model forecasts that if the rate of infection (R0) rises to 1.6, Malaysia might have 30,000 Covid-19 cases each day by the end of March. Then it would surpass Malaysia’s previous single-day high of 24,599 set in August of last year. In a news conference held recently, the health minister …

Thailand – Following a reported increase in cases of the extremely infectious Omicron coronavirus variant during the holiday season, Thailand’s health ministry urged on people to come forward and obtain booster vaccinations. At a press conference, health official Supakit Sirilak said that the nation has reported 2,062 cases of the Omicron variant so far this year, an increase from the 740 …

Thailand – As a result of growing worries about the spread of Omicron, Thailand is contemplating reinstituting strict quarantine for foreign visitors. The nation’s health ministry stated on Monday that the country has had its first incidence of local transmission of the coronavirus variant. According to Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the public health ministry would propose eliminating a quarantine waiver for …

Indonesia – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is determined to observe the COVID-19 inoculation for youngsters in the age section of six to 11 years at the Cideng Elementary School Complex in Gambir on Wednesday. Earlier today, he come to see the beginning of immunization for kids matured 6-11 years. Across Indonesia, he wants to immunize around 26.5 million kids, with …

Malaysia – Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced that Malaysia will be procuring the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to inoculate children aged five to 12 years old. “With FDA panel recommending Pfizer jab for five to 12-year-olds, Malaysia will go forward with our procurement of Pfizer for kids. We will also look at other options like Sinovac,” he said on Twitter …

Malaysia – The Health Ministry cites the high number of Covid-19 cases in Melaka as one of the grounds for the political campaign prohibition, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Noor Azmi Ghazali, while dismissing any ulterior intentions for the measure. Noor Azmi stated that the government learned from the Sabah state election last year, when Covid-19 cases increased tenfold following …

Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin said that he had ceased using the phrase “herd immunity” in reference to Malaysia’s Covid-19 immunization goal. He noted that the phrase is no longer relevant due to the fast spread of the Delta strain but stressed that the government remains committed to increasing vaccine coverage for public safety. During his ministerial winding-up in the …

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said more field hospitals are needed in Penang to handle the state’s growing number of Covid-19 patients. According to the Bagan MP, the Penang’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed utilization rate is now 96.6 percent, ranking the state second in the country. Lim suggested that Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin investigate the possibility of establishing more …

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang underlined to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin his earlier warnings that immunization alone would not address Malaysia’s Covid-19 issues. The Iskandar Puteri MP contrasted Indonesia’s achievement in decreasing daily cases, stating that despite its bigger population, the neighboring country had reduced its infection rate much quicker than Malaysia. For more than four weeks, Southeast Asia’s third …