Global cases top 416m

Singapore, Vietnam, Bali welcome back tourists

FE Team | Published: February 17, 2022 00:01:29

The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 416 million, with the Omicron variant's quick spread across the globe, report agencies.
According to Worldome-ters tally, the total case count mounted to 416,615,409 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,859,611 Wednes-day evening.
The US has recorded 78,036,352 cases so far and 925,438 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 42,692,943 on Tuesday, as 27,409 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry's data.
Brazil has registered 27,677,468 Covid-19 cases so far and 640,076 people have died from the deadly virus, according to JHU.
Meanwhile, Singapore will expand quarantine-free travel to Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this month, its health ministry said on Wednesday, resuming border reopening after a pause due to an outbreak of the coronavirus.
The city-state will also restore and increase quotas under its vaccinated travel programme, which had been reduced in December to deal with the Omicron variant.
Singapore will streamline border measures for all travellers, and remove an entry approval requirement for eligible residents who are long-term pass holders, the ministry said, making it easier for expatriates to travel.
However, some overseas workers with different permits typically employed in sectors such as construction and manufacturing will still need an entry approval.
Another report adds: Bali began a tentative re-opening to foreign tourists on Wednesday with the first international passenger flight to the Indonesian holiday island in nearly two years.
The resumption of flights comes as the Southeast Asian archipelago loosens quarantine rules even as it battles a surge in Covid cases fuelled by the Omicron variant.
A Singapore Airlines plane carrying 109 international travellers and 47 Indonesians landed in Bali on Wednesday, the island's governor Wayan Koster told a press conference.
The foreign visitors must stay in a quarantine bubble at one of 27 designated hotels for three to seven days, depending on the number of vaccine doses received, according to new nationwide rules published Wednesday.
Report from Hanoi adds: Vietnam will re-open to international tourists on March 15 after a two-year border closure due to the pandemic, the government said Wednesday.
The Southeast Asian nation of 97 million people largely closed itself in March 2020 -- a move that clobbered its burgeoning tourism sector which was worth $32 billion a year before Covid.
Authorities said in a statement Wednesday they would begin issuing visas and accepting foreign arrivals from the middle of next month.
The announcement comes a day after the communist country lifted all restrictions on international flights.