The Philippines reported 259 more deaths related to SARS-CoV-2 on 14 September, raising the total number of fatalities in the country to 4,630.

The Philippine Ministry of Health said the country recorded 4,699 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its tally to 265,888 – the highest in the Southeast Asian region.

On the same day, 3,141 new COVID-19 cases and 118 deaths were reported in Indonesia, making its total of infections and fatalities to 221,523 and 8,841, respectively. 

Indonesia currently has so far had the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Singapore has begun distributing COVID-19 tracing devices to its citizens, with the aim of further improving the country's ability in the fight against COVID-19.

The electronic device called TraceTogether will complement the same-name contact-tracking app on smartphones that the Singaporean government has encouraged people to install.

On 9 September, the Singaporean Health Ministry announced that from 17 September, all travellers from India who are not Singaporeans and permanent residents will have to take a COVID-19 test before departing for Singapore.

Source: VNA