Brunei to boost vaccination capacity by 35% In the past week MoH administered a daily average of 7,020 doses. But it wants to accelerate the pace of inoculations to reach 10,000 doses per day.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The Ministry of Health (MoH) plans to increase vaccination capacity by 2,500 doses per day in a bid to get 80 percent of the population fully vaccinated by year’s end.

The additional allocation will take effect on October 5, with priority given to those who had difficulty securing a first dose appointment on the BruHealth app.

This time around, members of the public have to WhatsApp the numbers below to secure a booking, providing their full name, IC number, BruHIMS number (if applicable) and mobile number.

The additional slots are open to all Brunei residents above the age of 18, including the elderly, pregnant women and persons with disabilities.

MoH said bookings will be taken via WhatsApp on Monday, October 4 between 8am and 12pm only. Successful bookings will receive an SMS from the health ministry within 24 hours.

Anyone who does not have a BruHealth or BruHIMS account at the time of booking will have to undergo a COVID-19 antigen rapid test at the vaccination site before their jab.

Health minister YB Dato Dr Hj Md Isham said that vaccination appointments will not be affected by the new curfew, which requires all residents to stay indoors from 8pm to 4am, except for essential workers.

“This is a national programme, so it is not included in the restriction… Even though vaccination centres are open from 8am to 8pm, sometimes you might have to wait until midnight.

“So if you are detained by police [in a roadblock] just show proof that you just came from being vaccinated,” he said.

Today’s coronavirus numbers

Five COVID patients, aged between 47 to 77, passed away today while the country saw 246 new infections.

The ministry said only two of the deaths were COVID-related, while one is still under investigation. The other two patients had pre-existing health issues and were not classified as COVID deaths.

The cumulative number of cases recorded since March 2020 stands at 7,568.

Currently 2,321 people with active COVID infections are under quarantine, occupying 78 percent of beds at isolation facilities. 

Eight new clusters were identified today, including clusters at the Guardian Distribution Centre, Soon Lee Heavy Machineries, and Syarikat Dayang Damit & Rakan-Rakan.