Darussalam Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report Weekly report for the week ending 18 April 2021

Brunei Darussalam Situation summary  In the past week, two new imported cases were reported in Brunei Darussalam, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 221. The latest cases were reported on 14 April 2021: o Case #220 is a 39-year-old male who travelled from Egypt and arrived in the country on 7 April. o Case #221 is a 35-year-old male who is the husband of case #215. Case #215 was confirmed positive on 7 April. Both cases had been in isolation at the National Isolation Centre (NIC) upon arrival from Thailand on 24 March.  Currently, eight active cases remain in treatment, with no cases admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).  A total of four new recoveries were reported in the past seven days, bringing the total number of recoveries to 210.  No new COVID-19 deaths were reported in the past week.  As of 17 April, a total of 8454 individuals have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose through the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. This accounts for approximately 2.6% of Brunei Darussalam’s estimated total target vaccine population. Upcoming events and priorities  Authorities have released guidelines for the upcoming Eid celebrations. The guidelines advise all organised private events to be limited to immediate family and close friends. All events should be scheduled to prevent overcrowding at any one time. Moreover, large families with limited home spaces for hosting are advised to hold such events at halls while strictly adhering to public health and social measures.  For more information regarding COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam: o Visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) Brunei Darussalam website. o Contact the Health Advice Line 148. o Visit the BruHealth app website for more information. National transmission assessment

National transmission stage assessment: Stage 1 – Imported cases (high confidence)1 Week 15 (12–18 April)

Brunei Darussalam reported two new imported COVID-19 cases this past week. As of 18 April, Brunei Darussalam has recorded a total of 221 COVID-19 cases and three associated deaths. Currently, eight active cases remain under treatment at the National Isolation Centre (NIC). All travellers entering the country are placed in government-maintained quarantine and isolation facilities upon arrival, limiting the risk of transmission in the community. A total of 80 imported cases into Brunei Darussalam have been confirmed to date. It has been 347 days since authorities detected the last reported locally transmitted case in May 2020. Travel restrictions on countries considered as high risk remain in place.

1The transmission stage assessment is made based on three sets of indicators relating to i) trends in cases (including confirmed cases and positivity rates); ii) severe illness (including ICU admissions, mortality and severe acute respiratory illnesses case reporting); and iii) sources of infection (including the proportion of local/imported cases, unlinked cases and clusters). 1 of 3

1 Brunei Darussalam Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report Weekly report for the week ending 18 April 2021

Epi Update Tests Cases Deaths ICU COVID-19 2 0 Data reported for 1088 0 New cases in the ICU utilization rate epi week ending 18 Tests in the Deaths in the past 7 days in the past 7 days April 2021 past 7 days past 7 days (% difference (- 28.3%) (-60.0%) (-) (-) compared to the 2 previous 7 days) 118 108 221 3 85 Cumulative tests Cumulative cases Cumulative deaths ICU beds for COVID-19 0.20% 1.36% patients Positivity rate Case fatality rate Imported 2 (100%) 0(0.0%) 0 0 cases and Imported cases Cases in the past 7 Active clusters Active clusters with clusters in the past 7 days days with no link more than three generations

Epidemiology Fig. 1. New daily reported COVID-19 cases, Brunei Darussalam, March 2020 to 18 April 2021

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28/06/2020 27/12/2020 19/04/2020 17/05/2020 31/05/2020 14/06/2020 12/07/2020 26/07/2020 23/08/2020 20/09/2020 18/10/2020 15/11/2020 29/11/2020 13/12/2020 10/01/2021 24/01/2021 21/02/2021 21/03/2021 18/04/2021 22/03/2020

2 As of 30 March 2020: 58 ICU beds in hospitals and 27 in the National Isolation Centre. Source: https://sites.google.com/site/weechiankoh/home/COVID-19 2 of 3

2 Brunei Darussalam Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report Weekly report for the week ending 18 April 2021

Strategic approach

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI)  As of 18 April, 579 individuals entering the country from abroad are undergoing mandatory quarantine at government-run monitoring centres. Since March 2020, a total of 16 826 individuals have completed mandatory quarantine at these centres.  During this Ramadan season, authorities have permitted vendors to operate at bazaars. All visitors to bazaars and stores will be required to comply with public health measures. This includes practising physical distancing, scanning a QR code using the national contact tracing app, BruHealth, when entering an establishment, and wearing a face mask at all times. In the , bazaars are allowed to operate between 14:00 and 18:00 daily.  The temporary suspension on entry of foreign nationals into or transiting through Brunei Darussalam via land and sea borders has been extended to 7 May 2021. Similarly, the temporary suspension on commuters via land and sea borders for the purposes of work has been extended to 7 May 2021.

Testing and surveillance  A total of 1088 samples have been tested for SARS-CoV-2 in the past seven days, bringing the total number of laboratory tests conducted since January 2020 to 118 108.

Vaccine  Of the total 8454 individuals who have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 6434 individuals reside in the Brunei-Muara district, 847 in the , 753 in the Tutong district and 420 in the .  Effective 22 April, those aged 60 years and above will now be able to book COVID-19 vaccination slots via the national contact tracing application, BruHealth. Such individuals will be offered the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 inoculation.

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