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Southeast Asia sees surge in COVID-19 cases
The Philippines recorded 7,186 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest single-day increase in more than six weeks, and an additional 72 deaths, the Southeast Asian country's health ministry reported.
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An aerial view shows a Muslim cemetary empty due to a partial lockdown set by authorities restricting travel within each state and district, as a measure to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, ahead of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 2021. (AFP/Mohd. Rasfan)
Several countries in Southeast Asia are experiencing major surges of the coronavirus and rushed to impose tough restrictions.
The Philippines recorded 7,186 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest single-day increase in more than six weeks, and an additional 72 deaths, the Southeast Asian country's health ministry reported.
President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Monday of stricter virus curbs if the current outbreak worsens. According to one research group, daily cases could hit 8-10,000 infections a day without stronger countermeasures to contain the more contagious Delta variant, Reuters reported.
Read also: Foreigners leave Indonesia amid coronavirus case spike
Thailand reported on Wednesday a daily record of 16,533 new coronavirus infections, bringing the country's total accumulated cases to 543,361.
The country's COVID-19 task force also reported 133 new deaths, taking total fatalities to 4,397.
Indonesia reported a record 2,069 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours Tuesday as it faces its deadliest Covid-19 surge since the pandemic began.
The grim tally was nearly 600 deaths higher than the previous day and topped last week's daily record of 1,566 deaths, the health ministry said.
New infections also shot up to just over 45,000, from about 28,000 on Monday.
The eye-watering data comes after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo this week loosened virus curbs by allowing small shops, streetside restaurants and some shopping malls to reopen after a three-week partial lockdown, AFP reported.
Health experts had warned that could trigger a fresh wave of cases, as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the vast archipelago, which has overtaken India and Brazil to become the global pandemic epicentre.
Malaysia reported 207 deaths from COVID-19 for the second consecutive day on Tuesday (Jul 27), with the number of critically ill patients also reaching another high, CNA reported.
Thirty-one of the victims were classified as "brought in dead" to hospital, said health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah. A total of 16,117 new COVID-19 cases were also identified, Malaysia’s second highest daily tally after more than 17,000 infections were reported on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a Japanese man in Myanmar has died of COVID-19, the first fatality among citizens from Japan in the Southeast Asian country, the Japanese Embassy said Tuesday.
Myanmar has seen a spike in COVID-19, with 4,630 new coronavirus infections and a record 396 deaths reported Monday, according to health authorities in the country, quoted by Kyodo News.
The Japanese man in his 70s died on Saturday, the embassy said. There were some 1,600 Japanese citizens living in Myanmar as of early March, it said.
Read also: Desperate search for oxygen in Myanmar as COVID-19 surges
The medical system in Myanmar is in collapse amid the surge in infections, while many medical workers refuse to return to their jobs in protest against February's military coup.
The health authorities said total infections reached 274,155 and cumulative deaths 7,507 on Monday.
