Covid-19 (June 25): 5,812 new cases as ‘total lockdown’ expiry draws near
COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 5,812 new Covid-19 cases three days ahead of the expiry of “total lockdown”.
The “total lockdown” version of the movement control order began on June 1 and is set to expire on June 28.
During the week prior to the start of “total lockdown”, the seven-day average for new daily Covid-19 cases was 7,680 and 109,101 test samples taken.
The average over the past seven days was 5,350 and 74,708 test samples.
When the two periods are compared, the drop in average number of cases was down 30.3 percent while the drop in average number of sample taken was 31.5 percent.
- Active cases: 60,117
- Patients in ICU: 870
- Intubated: 433
States
- Selangor (2,187)
- Kuala Lumpur (771)
- Sarawak (673)
- Negeri Sembilan (658)
- Penang (270)
- Malacca (223)
- Johor (196)
- Kedah (186)
- Sabah (156)
- Pahang (139)
- Labuan (123)
- Kelantan (98)
- Perak (72)
- Terengganu (46)
- Putrajaya (14)
- Perlis (0)
In Selangor (2,187) a very alarming one in 5.1 new cases were only detected when the Covid-19 patient reported symptoms but are not related to existing clusters or are close contacts.
As of yesterday, the R-naught for the country was 0.98. An R-naught of less than 1.00 would suggest that the spread of Covid-19 was decelerating.
Worryingly, the R-naught has been rising steadily from a recent low of 0.90 on June 12.
At a micro-level, for now, the only region where the R-naught was more than 1.00 is Negeri Sembilan (1.06). The regions of Selangor, Malacca, Labuan and Sarawak are precariously close to 1.00.
Deaths
The Health Ministry today reported another 82 deaths attributed to Covid-19. The national death toll has reached 4,803.
There have been 2,007 people who have died of Covid-19 in the month of June alone, or 41.8 percent of all Covid-19 deaths reported so far.
On average, 80 people die from Covid-19 daily or around 3.3 deaths per hour.
Source:Malasiakini
Israel requires masks indoors again as Delta variant drives up COVID-19 cases
TEL AVIV: Israel told its citizens on Friday (Jun 25) they must again wear masks indoors, 10 days after being allowed to ditch them, amid a sustained surge in COVID-19 infections attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant.
The mask requirement had been one of only a few social curbs remaining as Israel’s rapid vaccination drive kept cases down.
But infections more than quadrupled this week to 138 after outbreaks attributed to the Delta variant at two schools, prompting officials to tighten some restrictions again and urge parents to have children between 12 and 15 vaccinated.
The health ministry reimposed the mask requirement for all indoor settings except the home, and said it was also recommending masks be worn at large outdoor gatherings, specifically mentioning gay pride events taking place around Israel this weekend.
READ: Vaccinated Israelis may need to quarantine because of Delta COVID-19 variant
READ: Israel urges adolescents to get vaccinated, citing Delta COVID-19 variant
Around 55 per cent of Israel’s 9.3 million population have received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Eligibility was extended to 12- to 15-year-olds last month, but take-up in that age group has been low.
In April, Israel’s pandemic response coordinator, Nachman Ash, said Israel could achieve “herd immunity” when 75 per cent of its population were either vaccinated or naturally immune after having contracted COVID-19.
But on Thursday, allowing for the higher contagiousness of the Delta variant, he put that figure at “at least 80 per cent”.
Currently around 65 per cent of Israel’s population have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19, the health ministry says.
Source: Reuters/jt
Singapore and Malaysia police dismantle Johor job scam syndicate in joint investigation
SINGAPORE: A Malaysian crime syndicate believed to be behind scams involving hundreds of victims in Singapore has been crippled in a joint investigation by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Royal Malaysia Police, SPF said in a news release on Friday (Jun 25).
In a raid on four locations on Monday, Johor police rounded up 22 Malaysians – 11 men and 11 women aged between 15 and 28 – suspected to be part of the syndicate, seizing 48 telecommunications devices, 12 laptops and training booklets, said SPF.
The group is believed to be behind job scams involving more than 250 victims in Singapore this year, SPF added.
Officers from the SPF’s Commercial Affairs Department and Malaysia’s Johor Police Contingent and Commercial Crime Investigation Department were involved in dismantling the Johor-based syndicate.
The director of Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department David Chew on Friday thanked his Malaysian counterparts for their “strong support and commitment in tackling transnational crime syndicates”.
Mr Chew said the syndicate had “used various means to reach victims across international boundaries with bogus job offers that promised lucrative returns”.
Victims were asked to place orders on e-commerce platforms and make payment to third-party bank accounts to boost the merchants’ online ratings, Mr Chew said.
He urged members of the public to “protect themselves and their loved ones from falling pray to scammers” even as the police “continue this fight against scams”.
To this end, the police will continue to work closely with foreign law enforcement agencies, SPF said.
The police have also advised members of the public not to accept “dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal effort” and to verify the authenticity of job offers with the official e-commerce website.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.
Source: CNA/vc(hs)
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