A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / NEW DELHI / WELLINGTON / SEOUL / SUVA - Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in parliament on Monday that the city-state government estimates about 60 percent of local residents are likely to have been infected with COVID-19, Singapore-based Asian news network CNA reported.

Ong added that it does not mean Singapore now has "herd immunity", as scientists around the world do not think herd immunity is achievable because the virus will continue to mutate, escape the protection of vaccines and infect people.

The minister said that Singapore is still in the middle of an infection wave driven by the Omicron variant BA.5, but over the last 10 days, infection numbers have been falling.

Ong said that Singapore should see the wave subsiding further this week. 

Singapore reported 4,709 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with two deaths were reported from COVID-19, bringing the total death toll to 1,520.

Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in an effort to counter the spread of the COVID-19 in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on March 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Brunei

Brunei reported 685 new daily COVID-19 cases on average in the past week, a reduction of approximately 50 percent from 1,199 per day the previous week, the country's health ministry said on Monday.

According to the health ministry's weekly briefing on COVID-19, a total of 65,339 Antigen Rapid Test (ART) test results were uploaded to the government within one week, of which 7.3 percent were positive.

One case requires treatment at the intensive care unit while five others require respiratory assistance, it said.

Over 99 percent of the cases detected in the past week do not require hospital treatment, the health ministry said.

Brunei is no longer sharing its daily number of new cases or active cases of COVID-19 since June 22 "as the Early Endemic Phase has ended."

Fiji

Fiji has reported three more COVID-19-related deaths over the past three days, bringing the death toll in the island nation to 873.

The recent increase in COVID-19 trend indicated the need for people not to be lax in getting their booster doses for added protection, said Fiji's Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong, according to reports by Fiji Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.

In recent months, cases of severe disease and death have only been seen in people with significant underlying medical conditions and older people, he said.

Fong also confirmed that the Ministry of Health has recorded 119 new cases of COVID-19 over the past three days.

India

India reported 13,734 new cases of COVID-19 during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,050,009 in the country, according to federal health ministry data released on Tuesday morning.

The cases reported on Tuesday decreased from Monday's 16,464 new cases.

Currently, India's active caseload stands at 139,792.

The country also logged 34 related deaths during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 526,430 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.

The daily positivity rate stands at 3.34 percent and the weekly positivity rate was 4.79 percent, the ministry data showed.

New Zealand

New Zealand recorded 7,113 new community cases of COVID-19 and 33 more deaths, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

There have so far been a total of 1,563 deaths confirmed as attributable to COVID-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor since the pandemic began in New Zealand, the health ministry said.

Among the new COVID-19 cases reported over the last 24 hours, 275 cases have recently traveled overseas, it added.

A child receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 as a performer dressed as superhero character Spider-Man looks on at a gym in San Juan City, suburban Manila on Feb 7, 2022. (TED ALJIBE / AFP)

Philippines

The Philippines reported 3,553 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,780,178.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 34,268, and 10 additional patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 60,737.

The DOH said Metro Manila tallied 1,185 new cases.

The Philippines reported its highest COVID-19 single-day tally of 39,004 new cases on Jan 15. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has fully vaccinated over 71.4 million people.

South Korea

South Korea reported 111,789 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 19,932,439, the health authorities said Tuesday.

The daily caseload was up from 44,689 in the previous day and higher than 99,252 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

For the past week, the daily average number of confirmed cases was 83,709.

A man passes walks past a billboard on the coronavirus in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 4, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnam

Vietnam recorded 1,377 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, down by 101 from Sunday, according to its Ministry of Health.

The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 10,781,009. The country reported no new deaths from the pandemic on Monday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,093.

As of Monday, there were 50 severe cases in need of assisted breathing in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry.