Category: Medical Care

KUALA LUMPUR— The Malaysian government, through the Ministry of Health (MOH), on Thursday signed a letter of undertaking to purchase the antiviral drug, Molnupiravir as an additional choice in the innovative treatment against COVID-19.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said through the agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme, the government agreed to procure the package of 150,000 patient courses of the medication.

“This decision was made in preparing us for the transition to the endemic phase to enable us to live with the virus by having additional choices in new innovative treatment as a weapon against COVID-19, apart from using other vaccines and taking public health actions,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

Khairy had previously announced that Malaysia had already started the discussion to procure the antiviral drug from Merck Sharp & Dohme, in boosting the treatment efforts during the transition period while living with COVID-19.

He added that based on studies conducted by the company, using Molnupiravir could reduce the rate of admission to the wards by 50 per cent.

“It is also effective against the more aggressive COVID-19 variants such as Gamma, Delta and Mu.

“However, I wish to state here that although Molnupiravir is effective, it does not mean that vaccines are no longer required in reducing infections and preventing a worse outbreak.

“The Molnupiravir drug cannot prevent infection. It is only useful for those already infected,” he added and stressed that the government needed both methods to reduce the burden brought by COVID-19 and for the infection prevention and control efforts to have a bigger impact.

Khairy said the MOH would continue monitoring the developments involving medications used in treating COVID-19 patients across the world to ensure that Malaysia was not left behind in providing the best treatment for its people.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR— Brunei’s Foreign Minister II Erywan Mohd Yusof called on all ASEAN members to step up cooperation in the vaccination drive against COVID-19, and in addressing mental health issues.

Erywan, who is also ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar, said this will contribute towards community-building measures to ensure that the welfare of ASEAN people is protected, both physically and mentally.

While it is reassuring to see many countries in the region embarking on extensive programmes to vaccinate their population, there were many who have yet to reap the same benefits.

Hence, accelerating the efforts to ensure equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for all in a timely manner is crucial, he said during his special address at the 2021 ASEAN Leadership & Partnership Forum held virtually, on Thursday.

In striving to support the regional economic infrastructure, he pointed out that it is imperative for the regional bloc to first protect the “engine of growth” – its people.

“Vaccinating our population is, therefore, a gateway to being able to open up our economies and connect the region by facilitating to the best extent possible essential movement of people, including business travels and tourism,” he said.

What is less visible, however, but equally as important is the fact that the pandemic has affected the mental health and well-being of adults, youth, and children alike.

“We must take early actions to address this issue that we will see a mental health crisis that is far bigger than this pandemic in 10 to 15 years’ time.

“Therefore, we (ASEAN) look forward to the adoption of the East Asia Summit leaders statement on mental health cooperation at the upcoming East Asia Summit,” he said adding that ensuring the health and well-being of the people is essential in determining the path to a sustainable economic recovery.

The forum, themed “Rebuilding ASEAN Towards Sustainable Recovery”, was co-organised by the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific and The Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur.

The keynote address of the forum was delivered by the Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Nancy Shukri.

Among the forum’s special addresses were also presented by the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana; and Minister of Commerce, Cambodia, Pan Sorasak.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

SINGAPORE— Singapore detected more than 3,000 new daily cases of COVID-19 infection on Tuesday (Oct 5), the highest number recorded since the pandemic began last year.

From the total of 3,486 new cases, the republic’s Ministry of Health (MOH) said 2,767 cases were reported in the community, 713 in the migrant worker dormitories, and six imported cases.

In its nightly data update, MOH said 1,512 cases currently warded in hospital, of whom, 247 cases require oxygen supplementation and 34 in the intensive care unit (ICU).

In its last briefing, the republic’s Multi-Ministerial Taskforce said Singapore could see COVID-19 cases to hit 5,000 a day in two weeks, with the vast majority having mild symptoms or asymptomatic.

Over the last 28 days, of the 40,396 infected individuals, 98.3 per cent had no or mild symptoms, 1.4 per cent required oxygen supplementation, 0.1 per cent required ICU care, and 0.2 per cent has died.

The MOH said nine more deaths were also reported Tuesday, all elderly Singaporeans or Permanent Residents with three of them unvaccinated against COVID-19 while two had been partially vaccinated.

In total, 130 have died in the republic from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

As of Oct 4, 83 per cent of the republic’s population had completed their full regimen or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and from the remaining number 85 per cent has received at least one dose.

To date, 321,228 individuals have received their booster shots.

As of noon Tuesday, the total caseload here stood at 109,804 with 23,463 active cases.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

SEOUL– South Korea reported 3,213 more cases of COVID-19 variants for the past week, bringing the total number of such cases to 36,266, the country’s health authorities said today.

Among the new cases found for one week until Oct 2, 143 were imported, while the remaining 3,070 were locally transmitted, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The far higher number of local transmissions indicated the domestic spread of the variants.

Of the new cases, 3,209 came from the Delta variant, and four from Alpha.

Among the combined cases involving the variants, 32,802 stemmed from the Delta variant, 3,288 from Alpha, 150 from Beta and 26 from Gamma. The four variants are believed to be more transmissible than the original one.

Meanwhile, the nation confirmed a total of 10,540 “breakthrough” COVID-19 infections, which refer to people who tested positive, after a full vaccination, as of Sept 26.

It equals 52.6 in every 100,000 people who got fully vaccinated. As of Sept 26, the number of fully inoculated people was 20,044,857.

It is known that people can be protected from the virus two weeks after the full vaccination. The breakthrough case refers to people infected with the virus two weeks after the full inoculation.

In the latest tally, South Korea reported 2,028 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, lifting the total number of infections to 323,379. The daily caseload hovered above 1,000 for 92 straight days since July 7.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

SINGAPORE– Singapore reported 3,486 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday, marking the first time the daily cases surpassing 3,000, in the country, and bringing the total tally to 109,804.

Of the new cases, 2,767 were recorded in the community and 713 in migrant worker dormitories, and six were imported cases, the Ministry of Health said, in a press statement.

Of the new local cases, 643 were reported in people above 60 years. Of the imported cases, three were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while the other three developed the illness during Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolation.

A total of 1,512 cases are currently hospitalised, with 247 of them in need of oxygen supplementation, and 34 in critical condition, held in the intensive care unit.

The ministry reported nine more deaths from COVID-19 in Singapore, bringing the overall death toll to 130.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

MANILA– The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported 10,748 new COVID-19 infections yesterday, pushing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 2,604,040.

The DOH also reported that, 61 more people died, as of yesterday, from COVID-19 complications, bringing the country’s death toll to 38,828.

Health Secretary, Francisco Duque, told a news conference that the country’s case fatality rate has dropped, while the number of severe and critical COVID-19 cases had increased, the past few days.

Health Undersecretary, Maria Rosario Vergeire, said that, the COVID-19 infections in Metro Manila showed a slow downward trend, with reported cases decreasing by 28 percent compared to the previous week.

She called for vigilance amid the decline in cases.

The Philippines, which has around 110 million population, has tested nearly 20 million people since the outbreak in Jan, 2020.

The country has administered over 46 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. More than 21.8 million people have been fully vaccinated. The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 million people this year.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR— A total of 20,603,249 individuals or 88 per cent of the adult population in Malaysia have completed their COVID-19 vaccination as of Monday.

Based on the Health Ministry’s data on the COVIDNOW portal, 94.4 per cent, or 22,098,764 individuals, of the adult population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 114,124 individuals or 3.6 per cent of adolescents aged between 12 and 17 completed their vaccination.

It also showed a total of 221,812 doses of the vaccine were dispensed on Monday with 126,433 as first dose and 95,379 as second dose, bringing the total number of vaccine doses dispensed under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) so far to 44,573,891.

PICK was launched on Feb 24 this year to curb the spread.

Meanwhile, two deaths due to COVID-19 were reported on Monday and both were brought in dead (BID) to hospital, bringing the total death due to the virus in the country to 26,759.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI– A few doses of COVID-19 vaccines were delivered with the help of a drone, in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur yesterday, said the country’s Minister of Health, Mansukh Mandaviya.

The vaccine doses were delivered by the Made-in-India drone, to an aerial distance of 15 kilometres, in around 15 minutes. The actual road distance between the two places is over 26 kilometres.

The minister said that, this practice would be regularly carried out in the future, adding that, India is home to geographical diversities and drones can be used to deliver essentials to the last mile.

“We can use drones in delivering important life-saving medicines, collecting blood samples. This technology can also be used in critical situations. This technology may prove a game-changer in addressing the challenges in health care delivery, particularly health supplies in difficult areas,” he said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK