JAKARTA, Sept 6 (Bloomberg): Indonesia, South-East Asia’s largest economy, has added 4,413 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours through midday Monday, the least since May 18.

The government has been easing restrictions across many cities as the local outbreak starts to subside from its peak, even as the number of daily deaths remain among the world’s highest.

The country reported 612 fatalities from the virus on Monday.

The government will allow dine-in time at restaurants to 60 minutes from currently 30 minutes and will open more tourism spots in the Java island.

Meanwhile, the most severe ‘Level 4’ category is still in place for tourist island Bali for at least another week.

Thailand is also set to reopen more of its popular tourist destinations starting next month, betting that a higher local inoculation rate can help draw more foreign visitors and revive an economy battered by the pandemic.

The reopening of capital city Bangkok and Chiang Mai as well as beach resorts Pattaya, Cha-Am and Hua Hin from Oct 1 will be modeled after an initiative to bring back vaccinated tourists to Phuket, tourism ministry officials said.

Myanmar may relax also mobility curbs in some townships as new Covid-19 cases decline and vaccination picks up, Khin Khin Gyi of the Ministry of Health told state broadcaster MRTV. Myanmar reported 2,829 new cases on Sunday, the lowest daily tally in about two weeks.

On the other hand, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said most of the country can exit lockdown amid sustained progress in fighting an outbreak of Covid-19’s delta variant. Singapore cut the time window for pre-departure tests for travelers from most countries.

But Singapore will increase the frequency of mandatory testing for higher-risk environments, such as personal care services and gyms, and will extend this requirement to more settings with frequent community interactions, such as mall workers and supermarket staff.

The government also said it will no longer allow social gatherings and interactions at workplaces from Sept 8. – Bloomberg