Day: August 13, 2021

About 235.94 hectares of areas affected by forest and grass fires in the country based on the reports received by the Fire and Rescue Department since January to July this year. The area of the affected is equivalent to 211 football fields. This phenomenon is partly due to the dry weather that is hitting Southeast Asia, including Brunei Darussalam namely the southwest monsoon period where the average day without rain is expected to continue until September.

 

In a closed press conference with the Radio Television Brunei, the Fire and Rescue Department also said that 323 calls have been received following the forest and grass fires incident around 7 months ago. From the number, Belait District recorded 148 calls, 90 calls in the Brunei Muara District, 83 in Tutong District and two calls in the Temburong District. Carrying out an open burning is strictly prohibited for the safety and health of the residents.

 

From the total number of calls, 149 calls received were due to the forest fire report while 174 grass fire report. Members of the public who carrying out recreational activities are reminded not to light bonfires and if necessary, ensure that the embers are completely extinguished before leaving the place.

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme specifically for pregnant women will commence on Monday, the 16th of August 2021. Pregnant women are included in the high risk group compared to non-pregnant women and they also have a higher risk of giving birth prematurely if infected with COVID-19. In view of the current community spread of COVID-19 infection in the country, the Ministry of Health urges pregnant women to be vaccinated in order to protect themselves and their unborn babies. Pregnant women, including those under O&G specialist clinics, who wish to be vaccinated can contact their nearest Maternal and Child Health, MCH, clinics or email them as follows:

 

The World Health Organization, WHO recommends that pregnant women to obtain the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine injection as the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks. The COVID-19 Moderna vaccine is the vaccine of choice for eligible pregnant women, regardless of age due to its wider use experience for pregnant women. Preliminary findings from the ongoing study did not find any adverse events in vaccinated pregnant women or their babies.

 

Appointment dates will be sent via SMS alert and BruHealth app will be updated accordingly. Pregnant women should ensure that their contact numbers are up-to-date in order receive the SMS alert. For Brunei Muara District and Temburong District, the vaccination will be carried out at the indoor stadium. For Belait District and Tutong District, the vaccination will be done at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital and Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Hospital respectively.

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

In a question and answer session with the media, a number of matters were raised including the use of face mask.

 

The Minister of Health explained that the Ministry of Health will take stern action against those who refuse to wear face mask.

 

Speaking on the AI curve, Yang Berhormat elaborated that it required a week of data to create the AI curve and to find out the AR NOT.

 

Touching on subsidy payment for the wages of local employees at affected companies, the Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy explained that the affected companies can submit their application through TAP. Meanwhile, overwhelming respond were received for the COVID-19 Relief Fund.

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

In the latest development, the Ministry of Health will introduce a new feature for the BruHealth application which is known as the Digital Quarantine Order which is activated starting on 13th August 2021.

 

Yang Berhormat the Minister of Health shared that the Digital Quarantine Order aims to:

– provide notice and information to the close contact that they have been identified as the contact for COVID-19 positive case.

 

– facilitate the authorities to monitor the status of those who have been granted a Quarantine Order virtually such as know their whereabouts at all times; receive confirmation of signs of infection that may be experienced by daily check-in; and receive applications for food deliveries; act as a digital document reference material for employees to inform their superiors on the imposed Quarantine Order; AND

 

– reduce the need for the issuance of a written Quarantine Order specifically for those with access to the BruHealth application.

 

In this regard, the public is required to update their personal information including their family members registered in the BruHealth application, specifically home address. This will facilitate the authorities to monitor and enforced the Quarantine Order.

 

What is unique about the Digital Quarantine Order is that it has a method to detect if a person being quarantined at a distance of more than 100 meters from their home address

 

If this happens, the enforcement will be notified immediately. Therefore, the public is advised to take seriously the Quarantine Order imposed on any individual, including updating their quarantine status in the BruHealth apps through the Digital Quarantine Order to together assist the Ministry of Health in monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

 

In this regard, anyone found violating or disobeying any of the instructions issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act, Chapter 204, which if found guilty can be issued a compound fine of up to 5 thousand dollars or may be prosecuted in court carrying a fine of up to 10 thousand dollars or six months imprisonment or both.

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Minister of Health also informed that the sudden increase in SARS-Co-V-Two test at the government laboratory has caused delay in obtaining results for the test.

 

In this regard, the public is urged to be patient and give their full cooperation by not visiting the laboratory to obtain their test results. The laboratory is a restricted area and of high risk for any infection. Therefore, those who are planning to travel abroad and had conducted their swab test in the past 3 days are advised to repeat the test. No additional fee will be imposed for the second test.

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

In a similar press conference, the Minister of Health said following an increase in the number of cases under the Immigration Cluster, the public who had visited the Bandar Seri Begawan Immigration and National Registration’s Counter between the 2nd and 9th of August 2021 and currently experiencing signs of infection are advised to get treatment and undergo SARS-Co-V-2 test as soon possible at the nearest swabbing centres.

 

Yang Berhormat Dato said 5 cases have recovered, bringing the total recovered cases to 327. Meanwhile, the number of active cases in the country are 268, with 2 cases are in critical condition and two other cases are under close monitoring at the National Isolation Centre. In the past 24 hours, 2,252 samples have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, bringing the total number of lab tests conducted since January 2020 to 167,061 tests.

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

Brunei Darussalam reported 55 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 598. Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Doctor Haji Awang Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar, Minister of Health stated the matter at a media conference on the latest COVID-19 situation yesterday afternoon at Dewan Al ‘Afiah, Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health also stated the detection of 2 new clusters namely the 451 Cluster and 477 Cluster. Joining the press conference was Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Doctor Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy.

 

According to Yang Berhormat, there are additional cases for the existing active clusters, 16 cases for Chung Hua KB Cluster; 2 cases for the ABCi Cluster; 3 for the Immigration Cluster; 3 cases for the 944 Cluster, 2 for the TOTAL Cluster and 1 case for the Champion 7 Cluster. In addition, there are 2 new clusters detected. 5 new cases reported are related to Case 451 and Case 477. The Cluster is now known as the 451 Cluster and 477 Cluster. 1 imported case also recorded TODAY who arrived in the country from the United Kingdom in the 30th of July 2021. Meanwhile, the source of infection for 22 cases have not been identified where one case is related to case 448 reported on the 11th of August 2021. Cases in the active clusters are those who are undergoing quarantine after coming into contact with several previous positive cases. Contact tracing for all new cases is currently on-going. All identified close contacts are required to undergo mandatory quarantine and RT-PCR SARS-Co-V-2 test.

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei