BY James Kon

The average daily number of new COVID-19 cases in the Sultanate last week was 485 cases per day, up from 437 cases per day the previous week. A total of 41,068 antigen rapid test (ART) results were uploaded to the BruHealth app within the week, of which 8.2 per cent were positive.

This was announced by Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar in the weekly press conference on the COVID-19 situation.

Meanwhile, 459 new cases were reported on Monday, of which 453 were from ART results and six were from 62 RT-PCR laboratory tests performed in the past 24 hours.

The minister also shared that there are no cases in Category 5 requiring treatment in the intensive care unit, while three are in Category 4 requiring respiratory assistance and close supervision.

He added that the rate of COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Brunei remains high with 78.6 per cent having received the third dose of the vaccine and 10.8 per cent also having received the fourth dose.

On influenza cases and influenza-like illness (ILI) cases in the past week, Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham revealed that there is a decreasing trend. However, it has not yet fully returned to normal.

He reminded the public to remain vigilant and take preventive measures such as self-isolation if experiencing signs of infection and avoiding crowded places, seeing a doctor if signs of infection persist or worsen, and get the Influenza vaccine, especially for those over the age of 60 or with health issues.

The minister also invited the public to continue participating in the ongoing 20 Billion Steps Together Challenge, which is targetted to be achieved by the end of the year.

“Let’s all reach 20 Billion Steps Together and move towards a healthier lifestyle. Keep moving for health, every step counts,” he said.

Also in attendance was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health Haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin