07 October 2021. The Thailand Public Health Ministry will give out 250,000 antigen test kits (ATKs) to food-related businesses, food stalls and restaurants nationwide to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. If the markets are located in dark red zones in 29 provinces, about 10% of staff should be randomly tested weekly.https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2193551/250k-test-kits-head-up-food-chain

07 October 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic curve entered a plateau period earlier than the SARS pandemic curve, which suggests that the pandemic was controlled more effectively because of a timely public-health emergency response (PHER). https://www.dovepress.com/initial-public-health-emergency-response-to-sars-and-covid-19-pandemic-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-RMHP

07 October 2021. ASEAN leaders and experts convene for a two-day Special Ministerial Conference with the goal of shaping resilient healthcare systems through regional collaboration. During Ministerial Panel, Laos Minister of Health and Cambodian Secretary of State for Health are sharing lessons learnt from managing the covid-19 pandemic.https://borneobulletin.com.bn/asean-leaders-experts-map-out-future-health-policies/

06 October 2021. Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that Taiwan has been active in trying to secure molnupiravir, an oral antiviral pill for treating COVID-19. The CECC will introduce the drug to the country once its application for an emergency use authorization (EUA) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4307846

06 October 2021. Phnom Penh municipal governor issued a directive requiring all people to produce Covid-19 vaccination cards when entering schools, markets, malls, marts, eateries and other business establishments that have been permitted to reopen.https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/phnom-penh-governor-show-covid-19-vaccination-cards-or-else

06 October 2021. Forty Lao prisoners held in a detention center in the capital Vientiane have been found infected with COVID-19. Arrested without health checks, many of those sent to the Xaysettha district jail were confined in a single room with other criminals, some of them already infected, and the infection then spread rapidly to the others.https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/prisoners-10062021192736.html

06 October 2021. China administered about 864,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday, bringing the total number of doses administered so far up to more than 2.215 billion, data from the National Health Commission showed on Wednesday.https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-administered-total-more-than-2215-bln-doses-covid-19-vaccines-oct-5-2021-10-06/

06 October 2021. The Vietnam Ministry of Health has announced 4,363 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, along with a further 119 COVID-related deaths. Among these new cases, seven were imported and 4,356 were local transmissions. A total of 2,223 new infections were reported in the community.https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1053989/viet-nam-records-4363-new-cases-of-covid-19-on-wednesday.html

06 October 2021. The Cambodia Ministry of Health reported 221 new Covid-19 cases, nine of which were imported. MOH also reported 13 new deaths and 443 recoveries. As of October 6, Cambodia had recorded a total of 113,924 Covid-19 cases.https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/13-more-covid-deaths-221-infections-cambodia

06 October 2021. The Thailand Ministry of Public Health has issued the latest vaccination guideline for adolescents aged 12-18.  In the new guideline, girls will be fully vaccinated with two doses about three weeks apart.https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews/thailand-issues-guidelines-for-teenage-boys-and-girls-for-pfizer-shots-374660