VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Pedestrians in face masks crossing a street. (Photo: Calvin Oh) - 

Singapore reported 1,670 new COVID-19 cases and eight more deaths linked to the coronavirus as of noon on Sunday (Nov 21).

The fatalities were aged between 63 and 95. All of them had various underlying medical conditions. The Ministry of Health (MOH) did not specify what those medical conditions were.

Singapore's death toll from the coronavirus now stands at 662. 

The overall intensive care unit (ICU) utilisation rate is at 52.9 per cent - the lowest since MOH started releasing this data about a month ago. 

The weekly infection growth rate rose slightly to 0.81 from Saturday's 0.78. 

The figure refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before. It has stayed below 1 for nine consecutive days.

The daily case count on Sunday is down from the 1,931 infections reported on Saturday. It is also the lowest since Sep 27.

Among the new cases, 1,657 are locally transmitted, comprising 1,577 infections in the community and 80 cases in migrant workers' dormitories.

The remaining 13 are imported cases, MOH said in its daily update released to the media at about 11.05pm. 

As of Sunday, Singapore has reported 252,188 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.

A total of 1,362 cases are warded in hospital, said MOH.

Among them, 186 require oxygen supplementation in general wards, 44 patients are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU, and 60 are critically ill and intubated.

A total of 2,640 cases were discharged over the past day, of whom 448 are seniors aged 60 and above. 

As of Saturday, 94 per cent of the eligible population - those aged 12 and above - have completed their full regimen or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

Twenty-three per cent have received their booster shots. 

Of the 79,364 COVID-19 cases over the last 28 days, 98.8 per cent had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic, while 0.8 per cent required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.2 per cent were in the ICU and 0.2 per cent died.

MOH said it is "closely monitoring" three large clusters. 

Fully vaccinated people, including those from different households, will be able to dine together in groups of five when restrictions are eased on Monday. The limit on social gatherings and household visitors will also be raised from two to five people.

Visits to hospitals and residential care homes will also resume on Monday with "enhanced" vaccine-differentiated measures - both the hospital patient or care home resident and their visitors must be fully vaccinated//CNA

Protesters confront riot police during a demonstration against Belgium government's measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 and mandatory vaccination in Brussels on Nov 21, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Kenzo Tribouillard) - 

Thousands of people gathered in central Brussels on Sunday (Nov 21) to protest against the reinforced COVID-19 measures that the government has imposed to counter the latest spike in coronavirus cases.

Many among them also protested against the strong advice to get vaccinated and any moves to impose mandatory shots.

The protest march lined up behind a huge banner saying “Together for Freedom". There were smoke bombs and firecrackers, but there was no violence during the early part of the march, which was due to conclude outside European Union headquarters.

Over the past several days, there have been marches in many European nations as one government after another tightened measures.

Dutch police arrested more than 30 people during unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands on Saturday, following much worse violence the previous night//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Philippine Marines fold a Philippine national flag during a flag retreat at the BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Mar 29, 2014. (Reuters/Erik De Castro) - 

The Philippines' defence chief said on Sunday (Nov 21) a military resupply mission for the country's troops stationed on an atoll in the South China Sea will resume this week, after it was aborted last week when it was blocked by the Chinese coast guard.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he had instructed the military to send its resupply vessels back to the Philippines-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, and that China "will not interfere" this time.

On Thursday, the Philippines condemned "in strongest terms" actions of three Chinese coast guard vessels that it said blocked and used water cannon on resupply boats headed toward Second Thomas Shoal, which is locally known as Ayungin Shoal.

The United States called the Chinese actions "dangerous, provocative, and unjustified", and warned that an armed attack on Philippine vessels would invoke US mutual defence commitments.

"The Chinese will not interfere per my conversation with the Chinese ambassador (Huang Xilian)," said Lorenzana.

Lorenzana said he and Huang had been talking "since the evening of the 16th while the incident was happening until yesterday, Nov 20".

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

There will be no navy or coast guard escorts for the Philippines' resupply boats when they sail back to Second Thomas Shoal, Lorenzana said.

"They (China) have no right to impede, prevent or harass our ships within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone), whether we are fishing or bringing supplies to our detachment in the Sierra Madre (navy ship) in Ayungin Shoal," he said.

The chief of the Philippine military's Western Command, Vice Admiral Ramil Roberto Enriquez, meanwhile said the number of Chinese coast guard vessels in Second Thomas Shoal had gone down to two as of Saturday night from three on Tuesday.

He said the Chinese maritime militia vessels had also left the shoal. China has denied operating a militia.

There were 19 vessels near Second Thomas Shoal recently and 45 near Thitu Island, another Philippines-occupied area, according to National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon//CNA

People sit at an outdoor cafe on a street decorated with Christmas lights in Vienna, Austria, on Nov 20, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vadim Ghirda) - 

Austrians were enjoying a last day out in coffeehouses and at Christmas markets on Sunday (Nov 21) before the government imposes a nationwide lockdown to combat a growing fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.

The measures, which take effect Monday and are expected to last for a maximum of 20 days but will be reevaluated after 10 days, require people to stay home apart from basic reasons like getting groceries, going to the doctor and exercising.

Restaurants and most shops will close, and larger events will be cancelled. Schools and nurseries will remain open, but parents are encouraged to keep their children at home.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg also announced Friday that Austria will introduce a vaccine mandate as of Feb 1. The details of how the mandate will work are not yet clear.

In an interview published Sunday in the newspaper Kurier, Schallenberg said it’s “sad” the government had to resort to a mandate in order to ensure that enough people get vaccinated.

Just under 66 per cent of Austria’s 8.9 million population are fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in Western Europe.

Of the impending lockdown, Schallenberg said he and other officials had hoped this summer that such restrictions would no longer be necessary, and that it was a tough decision to impose a new lockdown also on vaccinated people.

“That people’s freedoms need to be restricted again is, believe me, also difficult for me to bear,” he said.

The new measures, especially the vaccine mandate, have been met with fierce opposition among some in the country. A Saturday protest in the capital city of Vienna drew 40,000 people, according to police, including members of far-right parties and groups.

On Saturday, Austria reported 15,297 new infections, after a week in which daily cases topped 10,000. Hospitals, especially those in the hardest hit regions of Salzburg and Upper Austria, are overwhelmed as the number of coronavirus patients rises in intensive care units//CNA