2 March 2022. China has spent over a year developing Pfizer-type COVID-19 vaccines that may even help it pivot from stringent “zero-COVID” restrictions. Still, China is unlikely to join the majority of countries in approving foreign-made vaccines based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology before making its own. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/china-perseveres-with-mrna-covid-shot-development-amid-omicron-commercial-2022-02-28/

2 March 2022. Vietnam Ministry of Health yesterday announced the Covid-19 pandemic level assessment in the provinces and cities nationwide as number of Covid-19 infectious cases in localities tended to surge at high. https://www.sggpnews.org.vn/health/many-localities-change-into-red-yellow-zones-97639.html

2 March 2022. Thailand Ministry of Public Health reported that there are 22,197 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 118 of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad. Death toll increased by 45, while 19,093 patients were cured.https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012922

1 March 2022. The Laos National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control reported that 2.255 tests were conducted across the country, with 224 new cases confirmed. There were 189 cases of community spread and 35 imported cases across the country. https://laotiantimes.com/2022/03/01/laos-confirms-224-new-cases-of-covid-19/

1 March 2022. Cambodia Ministry of Health on March 1 reported 313 new Covid-19 cases, 28 of which were imported and all were confirmed to be the Omicron variant. As of March 1, Cambodia had recorded a total of 130,589 Covid-19 cases.https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/another-285-omicron-community-cases-cambodia

1 March 2022. China’s aggressive “zero COVID” strategy has served it remarkably well. But as the highly transmissible Omicron variant seeps into the country and the social and economic costs of zero COVID policy mount, Chinese researchers are examining options for coexisting with the virus, as the rest of the world is doing. https://www.science.org/content/article/china-quietly-plans-pivot-zero-covid

1 March 2022. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) characterization of pathogen landscape in Cambodia revealed diverse vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens irrespective of age and gender as risk factors. Identification of key pathogens led to changes in national program surveillance https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2115285119

28 February 2022. HCM City has seen a sharp increase in number of COVID-19 infected children. The city plans to vaccinate 970,000 children aged 5-11 against COVID-19. The HCM City Department of Health has also sent to relevant units an urgent document on guidance and care for COVID-19 infected children.https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1159579/hcm-city-prepares-to-tackle-rising-covid-19-infections-among-children.html

28 February 2022. Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council pledged that the central government will continue strengthening its full-range support for Hong Kong, as the city’s anti-pandemic fight has entered the most strenuous and critical stage.https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202202/28/WS621c712ba310cdd39bc894df.html

28 February 2022. Foreign tourists will no longer have to book a second RT-PCR test and hotel room on 5^th day of their stay in Thailand. Meanwhile, mandatory health coverage for foreign visitors has been reduced from US$50,000 to $20,000 (Bt648,000).https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012861