Italy bans tourists from Singapore till Jan 31 next year
Italy's move to ban Singapore tourists is the most significant setback for those looking for quarantine-free travel under the VTL scheme.
Philippines to remain under Alert Level 2 until end of 2021
Despite the declining cases, the IATF decided to maintain the current status as the threat of the Omicron variant looms.
South Korea’s student Covid-19 vaccine pass mandate may be adjusted
More than 50 percent of youths between age of 12 and 17 have received first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
More ICU beds to be added, more places open to only the vaccinated
Given the increased transmissibility of the new variant, vaccination-differentiated measures will be expanded to more places from Feb 1.
Serious surge of infections likely if Omicron enters Philippines
The Philippines has banned inbound flights from select countries until Dec 15 to prevent the possible entry of the Omicron variant.
Indonesia urges people not to travel abroad amid endemic goal
Indonesia has so far not found any cases of Omicron, which has been detected in 70 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.
Vaccines may be ineffective against Omicron without booster: US study
Scientists also suggested that Omicron is more infectious than previous variants of concern.
India stuck with Covid-19 vaccines it can’t export
The Serum Institute of India has already announced plans to temporarily halve output of the vaccine until more orders came.
‘Don’t tempt the gods’: Duterte asks for rules to prevent campaign crowding
He also said that people should only be comfortable joining big crowds when scientists and experts could say that it would be safe to do so.
Osaka University develops transparent capsule for moving Covid-19 patients
The university raised about ¥18 million through crowd-funding from March to May this year, exceeding its target of ¥10 million.