South Korea on Wednesday reported more than 2,200 new daily Covid-19 cases, its highest number since the pandemic began, as the country grapples with its worst outbreak to date. Despite having tough distancing measures in place for over a month, infections have spiked from the spread of the Delta variant and a rise in domestic travel over summer, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a pandemic response meeting. He also noted a rise in so-called “silent spreaders” within communities such as workplaces, indoor gyms, churches and nursing homes, leading to an increase in infections of unknown origin. Will South Korea’s Covid-19 vaccines become as important as its semiconductors? South Korea has since July been struggling to tame sporadic outbreaks of Covid-19 that were at first centred largely on metropolitan Seoul but have since spread nationwide. Nearly half of new cases detected recently have been found outside Seoul and in summer holiday spots, while authorities are concerned many people are ignoring social distancing rules. Kwon strongly urged people who return from holidays to voluntarily get tested before going back to work. Officials reported 2,223 new coronavirus cases for Tuesday, bringing South Korea’s total caseload to 216,206, with 2,135 deaths. Only 15.7 per cent of the country’s 52 million people have been fully vaccinated, while 42.1 per cent have received at least one dose. The government’s target is for 70 per cent to have received at least one shot by September. Lambda variant ‘deliberately omitted’ from Tokyo Olympics updates In Japan, health officials deliberately omitted any mentions of the highly contagious Lambda variant of Covid-19 in official media communications during the Tokyo Olympics , according to a new report. A woman from Peru who landed at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on July 20, three days before the Olympics began, tested Covid-positive that day and was reportedly flagged as a possible carrier of Lambda. She was confirmed to have that variant on July 26, but the health ministry did not cite the case in its regular news releases on July 30 or August 6, US news website the Daily Beast said on Tuesday. “We worked around the clock to make the call and sound the alarm, and the ministry kept quiet – and had no intentions of announcing until today – when the minister of health had his scheduled press conference,” an employee of the country’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases told the news outlet. The employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said Japan’s health officials were immediately concerned that the 30-year-old woman was carrying the strain because most Covid-19 cases in Peru, where that variant was first detected late last year, are the Lambda variant. “When the sample came and we knew where the woman was from, logically we were already looking for the Lambda variant and expected to find it,” the person reportedly said. In a press release issued on August 6, just two days before the end of the Olympics, Japan’s health ministry listed all Covid-19 variants detected in airport quarantine centres around the country. The press release mentioned the Alpha and Delta variants, but there was nothing about Lambda, the Daily Beast reported. The ministry only confirmed the detection on the evening of August 6, according to the outlet. Officials told the site it had not classified the case as having “landed” in the country because it was detected and isolated at the airport. The Lambda variant, formerly known as C. 37, has spread to more than two dozen countries, but it is not clear how aggressive it is compared to other strains. The World Health Organization has designated it as a “variant of interest” – as opposed to “variant of concern”, which is how the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants are classified. Vaccine efficacy against Lambda has not yet been determined, though a New York University study last month suggested that vaccines do work against the variant. Inoculations reach half of Cambodians Cambodia has administered at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose to half of its population, official data showed on Wednesday, with vaccine diplomacy playing a key part in its success. Cambodia, an ally of China and one of Asia’s poorest countries, started inoculations with Chinese-made vaccines in February, while millions of doses provided by the US, Japan and Britain have arrived in recent weeks. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday said Cambodia should reach the 10 million people targeted for vaccination about seven or eight months earlier than planned. Cambodian workers flee Thailand’s Covid-19 surge, overwhelming border facilities Of Cambodia’s more than 16 million people, 8.3 million have received at least one dose, while 6.4 million of those have received both required shots. The rate is similar to Malaysia’s 49.4 per cent receiving a first dose, but higher than the 25 per cent of the population in Thailand and 12 per cent of people in Vietnam. China has provided 18.7 million vaccine doses to Cambodia, of which 3.2 million were donations, according to the Chinese embassy. The US announced this week it would provide Cambodia with an additional US$4 million in urgent assistance after donating one million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine through the global-sharing Covax Facility. Australia’s Melbourne extends virus lockdown Five million people in Australia ’s second-largest city will remain under stay-at-home orders for at least another week as authorities extended a lockdown on Wednesday after failing to curb Melbourne’s latest Covid-19 outbreak. The city entered its sixth pandemic lockdown last Thursday after a fresh Delta variant cluster emerged at a Melbourne school and quickly spread. Daniel Andrews, the premier of the state of Victoria, said lockdown rules will be extended until at least August 19, after 20 new cases were detected overnight including several “mystery” cases. “There are too many cases, the origins of which are not clear to us … for us to safely come out of lockdown now,” he said. In Sydney, more than 5 million people are enduring their seventh week under stay-at-home orders, currently scheduled to remain until the end of August. The state of New South Wales recorded 344 new cases on Wednesday, taking the total for an outbreak that began in Sydney in mid-June to more than 6,100 cases. Hundreds of thousands of people outside Sydney – including in Newcastle, Byron Bay and most recently, Dubbo – are in lockdown after cases emerged in recent days. Australia has recorded more than 37,000 cases of Covid-19 and 941 related deaths to date in a population of 25 million. Malaysian singer dies of Covid-19 days after giving birth Fans are mourning the death of a popular Malaysian singer who died days after giving birth. Siti Sarah Raisuddin, 36, was eight months pregnant when she was put into an induced coma after contracting Covid-19 and experiencing low oxygen levels, according to a local report. The baby, born on Friday, survived, but Raisuddin succumbed to the virus 48 hours later, leaving behind three other children and her husband, Shuib Sepahtu. “With the help of the nurses and doctor, I was able to make the video call and that was the last time my kids and I would lay our eyes on her while she was still alive,” Sepahtu told local reporters. Malaysian Singer Siti Sarah Raisuddin passed away close to dawn today, after a battle with Covid-19. May her soul rest in peace. #SitiSarah #publichealth #KKM #CovidIsNotOver #coronavirus #Malaysia #Malaysian #Malaysiansinger #StayHome #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/TnebSHxuWe — Verra Kathaigal (@verrakathaigal) August 9, 2021 During the call, he said there were “tears streaming down her cheeks” like she understood what was being said to her. Sepahtu said he was not allowed to see his wife at the hospital but did complete prayers for her before she died. Raisuddin, her husband and children all tested positive for Covid-19 in late July. Her family tested negative after a 14-day quarantine, but she was rushed to the hospital last Wednesday because of her low oxygen levels. Sepahtu said his wife gave him a gift – their newborn, Ayash Affan. “She fought hard to save our baby,” he said. Discounts offered for fully vaccinated customers in Japan Restaurants, hotels and even wedding venues in Japan have begun offering discounts to customers who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as part of efforts to jump-start the country’s economy. While the efforts may promote more people to get vaccinated, some warn such discounts could lead to peer pressure against people who are reluctant to receive the vaccine. “I want things to return to pre-pandemic days as quickly as possible,” said Toshiyuki Fujimura, the 54-year-old deputy manager of a yakiniku grilled meat restaurant in Nagoya, central Japan, which is offering a maximum 3,000 yen (US$27) discount to customers who show proof of vaccination. The tourist federation of Fujikawaguchiko, a town in Yamanashi Prefecture nearby Mount Fuji, also started offering discounts at 30 of its member stores for fully vaccinated individuals. The offers include 10 per cent off facility fees as well as food and drink expenses. “Our aim is to encourage more people to come for sightseeing and to get vaccinated,” a staff member said. Unzen Onsen Azumaen, a ryokan traditional Japanese inn in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has been distributing coupons for use at its on-site shop to those vaccinated. The discounts have helped increase reservations gradually after the lodging had to be temporarily closed at one point following the outbreak of the virus, it said. Reporting by Reuters, Tribune News Service, Agence France-Presse, Kyodo, Bloomberg