Day: January 13, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR— The recovery in air travel continued in November 2021, however, Omicron restrictions are likely to affect the period ahead, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

 

International demand sustained its steady upward trend as more markets reopened, it noted.

 

Domestic traffic, however, weakened, largely owing to strengthened travel restrictions in China.

 

“Total demand for air travel in November 2021 (measured in revenue passenger-kilometres or RPKs) was down 47.0 per cent compared to November 2019. This marked an uptick compared to October’s 48.9 per cent contraction from October 2019,” it said in a statement Wednesday.

 

IATA noted that domestic air travel deteriorated slightly in November after two consecutive monthly improvements.

 

“Domestic RPKs fell by 24.9 per cent versus 2019 compared with a 21.3 per cent decline in October.

 

“Primarily this was driven by China, where traffic fell 50.9 per cent compared to 2019 after several cities introduced stricter travel restrictions to contain (pre-Omicron) COVID outbreaks,” it said.

 

According to the IATA, the international passenger demand in November was 60.5 per cent below that of November 2019, bettering the 64.8 per cent decline recorded in October.

 

IATA director-general Willie Walsh said if the experience of the last 22 months has shown anything, it is that there is little to no correlation between the introduction of travel restrictions and preventing transmission of the virus across borders.

 

“And these measures place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods. If experience is the best teacher, let us hope that governments pay more attention as we begin the new year,” said Walsh.

 

 

Source: NAM News Network

MANILA– The Philippines reported 32,246 new COVID-19 infections yesterday, the second-highest single-day tally since the pandemic began in Jan, 2020, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 3,058,634.

 

The Department of Health (DOH) said, the number of active cases or patients still battling the disease soared to 208,164, as the positivity rate rose to 45.7 percent.

 

The DOH also reported 144 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the country’s death toll to 52,654, with 11 laboratories failing to submit data. The deaths include those who died in previous months.

 

Health Secretary, Francisco Duque, said, the COVID-19 surge was still ongoing, adding, it was still “premature” to say that the COVID-19 infections had slowed down, after recording slightly lower new cases on Tuesday.

 

“Tuesday’s caseload is not an indication that the peak is over. We might still be in the acceleration phase of our surge. I cannot say for now whether it is the beginning of a downtrend,” he told an online forum yesterday.

 

Infections are beginning to spread outside Metro Manila, he added.

 

Duque said, the lower case count reported on Tuesday was due to the failure of testing laboratories to submit data on weekends. Many health care workers, including nurses and medical technologists, contracted the virus, affecting the operation.

 

The Philippines’ COVID-19 infections surged to record levels beginning Saturday, before peaking on Monday, with 33,169 cases.

 

Officials blamed the spike on high mobility, poor compliance with safety health protocols during the holiday season, and the fast-spreading Omicron and Delta variants.

 

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Department of Transportation, banned unvaccinated people in Metro Manila from using public transport, while the capital region is under alert level 3 (on a scale of 5).

 

Transportation Secretary, Arthur Tugade said, the new policy was in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order, to restrict the movement of unvaccinated people in Metro Manila, the region with the most active and new cases.

 

Tugade said, only those with medical conditions that prevent their complete COVID-19 vaccination and those travelling to buy food and other essentials were exempted from the “no vaccination, no ride” policy.

 

The Philippines, which has a population of around 110 million, has tested more than 24 million people since the outbreak.

 

Source: NAM News Network

JALALABAD– Two women lost their lives and a teenage girl was seriously wounded, by an unexploded ordnance blast, in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, a local official confirmed yesterday.

 

“The incident occurred in a house in Warsak village, Lal Pur district, on Tuesday, when an explosive remnants of war (ERW) exploded,” Basir Zabuli, the provincial police directorate, said.

 

According to the source, one of the victims found and brought the ERW home, after they returned, collecting firewood from nearby mountains, in an effort to sell the item as scrap metals.

 

Afghan officials use the term ERW, referring to unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO).

 

Landmines, anti-personnel mines, as well as ERWs, left behind from wars, kill or maim about 120 people every month in the country, according to Afghanistan’s Ministry for Disaster Management.

 

On Monday, at least six children and a vendor were killed and several others wounded, when an ERW exploded outside a school in remote Lal Pur district, near the border with Pakistan.

 

Source: NAM News Network

BANGKOK— Thailand plans to vaccinate 5.2 million students aged five to 11 against COVID-19.

 

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Prime Minister Prayuth Chan o-cha has instructed the Education Ministry to explain the need for vaccinations to parents and get their approval to innoculatetheir children.

 

“The Education Ministry is expected to open online vaccine registration for children aged five to 11 by end of this month,” he said in a statement.

 

Meanwhile, Director of Risk Communication and Health Behaviour Development Bureau of the Disease Control Department, Dr Sumanee Watcharasin said the government had procured Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the age of five and 11.

 

She said the vaccine is expected to arrive late this month or early next month.

 

Last month, Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the age of five and 11.

 

Meanwhile, Dr Sumanee said although COVID-19 cases were detected in school, there is no plan to close schools yet, as effective control measures have been implemented to stem the spread of COVID-19.

 

As of Tuesday, 95 per cent of students aged 12 years and above had received their first dose of COVID-19 shots while 70 per cent were fully vaccinated.

 

Source: NAM News Network

KUALA LUMPUR— Some 97.8 per cent of the adult population in the country, or 22,893,234 individuals, have completed their COVID-19 vaccination as of Wednesday.

 

Based on the Health Ministry’s COVIDNOW portal, 99 per cent or 23,175,181 individuals of the adult population have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

 

As for the adolescent population, involving those aged between 12 and 17, 90.8 per cent or 2,858,992 individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 88 per cent or 2,770,412 individuals from the group have completed the vaccination.

 

Meanwhile, 255,384 doses of the vaccine were dispensed Wednesday, involving 3,170 second dose, 2,016 first dose and 250,198 booster dose, bringing the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme to 60,035,273 doses, including 8,539,533 booster doses.

 

Source: NAM News Network