SINGAPORE — Singapore reported 777 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total tally of the disease in the country to 283,991.
Of the new cases, 366 were in the community, 15 were in migrant worker dormitories and 396 were imported cases, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
There were 535 new Omicron cases confirmed on Monday, of whom 251 were local and 284 were imported, the ministry said. (Singapore-COVID-19 Update)
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HONG KONG — Hong Kong on Friday reported 33 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 12,865, data from the Center for Health Protection showed.
The new cases consist of 26 imported cases and seven cases epidemiologically linked with an imported case.
Twenty-eight of the cases involved mutant strains, mutation test results of three cases are pending, while the viral load of the remaining two cases is insufficient for mutation tests. (Hong Kong-COVID-19 Update)
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SRINAGAR — Police in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir Friday said three militants were killed in a gunfight in the region.
According to the police, the gunfight broke out at village Chadoora of Budgam district, about 30 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
“Last night contingents of police, paramilitary and army cordoned off Zolwa Kralpora locality of Chadoora here. The moment they reach the suspected area, militants fired upon them triggering a gunfight. In exchange of the fire that continued until this morning three militants were killed,” a police official said. (Indian-controlled Kashmir-Gunfight-Deaths)
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NEW DELHI — India’s federal health ministry Friday said all international passengers arriving in the country would have to undergo mandatory seven-day home quarantine starting from Jan. 11.
The order has been issued in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in India driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
“All travelers (including those 2 percent who are selected for random testing on arrival and found negative) will undergo home quarantine for seven days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the eighth day of arrival in India,” read the order. (India-International Arrivals-Quarantine)
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KUALA LUMPUR — The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade pact, will provide new opportunities for more inclusive and balanced growth, a Malaysian business observer said.
Among the many benefits of RCEP will be the transfer of technology and production capacity from developed countries to less developed ones, as the former seek to build up new markets, Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) deputy secretary-general Michael Chai Woon Chew told Xinhua in a recent interview. (Malaysia-RCEP,INTERVIEW)
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TOKYO — The Japanese government’s plan to declare a quasi-state of emergency for three prefectures to tackle surging COVID-19 cases was approved by an advisory panel of experts on Friday.
The approval now paves the way for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to officially place the three prefectures of Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima under a quasi-state of emergency with the move coming amid a spike in COVID-19 cases stemmed from U.S. military personnel based in the prefectures. (Japan-Emergency State-COVID-19)
