A man shops for face masks in Divisoria, a local shopping district in Manila on May 17, 2022. (JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE / YANGON / SEOUL / NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD - The Philippines recorded the highest number of deaths in a single year in 2021 at 879,429, a 43 percent year-on-year increase mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a government commission said on Wednesday.

Citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the Commission on Population and Development said that "in normal years," the rise in deaths is only at around 1 to 5 percent.

Before the 2021 death statistics, the Philippines recorded the highest number of annual deaths in 2019 at 620,414, with nearly 1,700 cases daily. In 2021, there were over 2,400 deaths every day.

For 2021, the crude death rate, or the ratio of deaths occurring within a year to the mid-year population expressed per 1,000 population, was estimated at 8.02 per 1,000 Filipinos, a sharp rise from the rate of 5.6 per 1,000 in 2020.

"It took 20 years for the crude death rate to go up by 1 per thousand from 2000 when it was 4.8, to 2019 when it climbed to 5.8," said Undersecretary for Population and Development Juan Antonio Perez, the commission's executive director.

Perez added that the last time the Philippines had a high crude death rate was in 1958, at 8.4 per 1,000 population.

Besides COVID-19, Perez said other diseases also claimed more lives, including heart attacks, up by 29.7 percent; cerebrovascular disease or strokes, up by 15.3 percent; diabetes, up by 21 percent; and hypertension, up by 31.5 percent.

The Philippines reported 1,750 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,896,541.

The Department of Health said the number of active cases dipped to 22,889, while 49 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 62,167.

India

India's daily COVID-19 caseload increased to 6,395, official figures showed on Thursday.

According to the country's federal health ministry data released on Thursday morning, 6,395 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, taking the total tally to 4,44,78,636. The cases marked an increase in comparison to the daily caseload tallied one day earlier.

With the fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 50,342. The country logged 33 more related deaths, pushing the overall death toll to 528,090 since the beginning of the pandemic.

A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Myanmar

Myanmar confirmed 223 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 616,023, according to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

The health ministry said in a statement that these cases included 14 infected people who returned from abroad.

It added that health authorities tested 9,808 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 2.27 percent.

The death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,442 as no new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

Pakistan

Pakistan recorded 174 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the overall number of confirmed cases to 1,570,636, its ministry of health said on Thursday.

The new infections were detected after diagnostic testing was performed on 14,208 samples.

A total of 30,594 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with no more death reported on Wednesday, said the ministry.

Singapore Airlines stewardesses walk past a giant lollipop candy display at Changi International Airport in Singapore on April 1, 2022, as Singapore reopened its land and air borders to travelers fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. (ROSLOAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore reported 2,271 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total tally to 1,852,286.

Of the new cases, 244 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 2,027 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR cases, 218 were local transmissions and 26 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 1,853 local transmissions and 174 imported cases.

Five deaths were reported from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 1,601, the ministry said.

South Korea

South Korea reported 72,646 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 23,864,560, the health authorities said Thursday.

The daily caseload was down from 85,540 the previous day and lower than 81,555 tallied a week ago, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

For the past week, the daily average number of confirmed cases was 76,711. Among the new cases, 229 were imported, lifting the total to 61,071.

The number of infected people who were in serious condition stood at 493, down 28 from the previous day.

Sixty-four more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 27,313. The total fatality rate was 0.11 percent.

Passengers wait for transportation outside the arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on March 15, 2022, as Vietnam announced the return of a visa exemption policy for 13 countries in an effort to kickstart its tourism sector. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnam 

Vietnam recorded 3,878 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, up by 179 from Tuesday, according to its ministry of health.

All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.

The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,428,632. The country reported two new deaths from the pandemic in the northern Cao Bang province and the southern Tay Ninh province on Wednesday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,125.