SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged a rapid administration of booster shots against the COVID-19 as the eased anti-virus rules raised the number of severe cases and deaths.

Moon presided over a COVID-19 response meeting, saying the country's pandemic situation got serious amid the higher number of new infections, severe cases and deaths, as well as fewer hospital beds for severe patients. (South Korea-COVID-19 booster shot)

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Travel across the bridge connecting Malaysia and Singapore as well as an air corridor opened on Monday after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bridge link, or causeway, was one of the busiest crossing points in the world with hundreds of thousands from both countries crossing the link daily before the pandemic. (Malaysia-Singapore-Travel-COVID19)

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HANOI -- Vietnam received some 15,000 international arrivals in November following the launch of a pilot vaccine passport program, surging 42.4 percent from October, the country's General Statistics Office said Monday.

Starting from November, Vietnam has allowed visitors fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the country without quarantine in five localities, namely the northern Quang Ninh province, the central Da Nang city, Quang Nam province, Khanh Hoa province, and the southern Kien Giang province. (Vietnam-Society-Entry)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday that the government will ban the entry of all foreign nationals in principle from Tuesday amid concerns over the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19.

Kishida told local media that the decision was made to avoid the worst-case scenario, adding that "it is a temporary measure until information about the Omicron variant becomes clear." (Japan-Omicron variant) Enditem

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