MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australians were celebrating Easter Sunday in a relatively unrestricted manner as the country reported no new locally acquired coronavirus cases.

Queensland, the epicentre of a recent, small COVID-19 community outbreak, has had only one infection in the past three days. The state has the tightest restrictions on public gatherings.

Elsewhere, Australians flocked to the beaches, capitalising on the warm weather in many parts of the country, or gathered with families, in a stark contrast to last year’s Easter when a nationwide lockdown kept people confined to their homes.

While many countries have imposed fresh lockdowns or curtailed services for the major Christian holiday trying to keep the third wave of coronavirus from further spreading, Australia’s churches were open and many were attending services during the four-day weekend.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Australia, with 12 million people, and 86% of religious Australians, identifying as Christians, according to the 2016 census.

Australia has been one of the world’s most successful countries in curbing the pandemic, with snap lockdowns, border closures and swift tracking limiting coronavirus infections to just over 29,300 infections, with 909 COVID-19 deaths.

The country has had much less, however, with its inoculation drive, missing a March target by about 3.3 million doses as states and the federal government bickered over the blame.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday that the country is on track to give a first dose of the vaccine to all Australians who want it by October.

“As the supply has increased with the sovereign vaccine manufacturing, so has the rollout,” he said.

CSL Ltd. began production of 50 million doses of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in March in Melbourne, with most Australians expected to receive that shot.

Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by William Mallard

On the basis of the Section 1.5, Article 33 of the Constitution, Section 3, Article 14 of the Law on the President, and Section 1, Article 16 of the Law on Diplomatic Service, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga issued a decree on recalling Yo.Otgonbayar, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the United States of America.

In regard to the issuance of the presidential decree, Chief of Staff of the President’s Office U.Shijir sent an official letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs B.Battsetseg, requesting to expedite the required actions.

Source: The Office of the President of Mongolia

Mongolia on Friday received the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines it has purchased from China as part of the efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the handover ceremony of the 300,000 doses of vaccines, Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Chai Wenrui said that Mongolia is one of the first receivers of COVID-19 vaccine from China within the framework of both donation and procurement. This shows that China and Mongolia have traditionally friendly relations that help each other and overcome difficulties together, said Chai.

"Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Mongolia and China have provided each other with material and emotional support, and overcome difficulties together," Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg said at the ceremony.

"Vaccine is considered to be the most effective way to fight the pandemic. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to relevant Chinese government organizations for coordinating vaccine procurement and donating vaccines," she added.

Mongolia launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign across the country on Feb. 23, and more than 323,600 people have been vaccinated so far, according to the country's health ministry.

The country plans to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its 3.3 million people using four types of COVID-19 vaccines, and 20 percent will be vaccinated under COVAX, a global initiative for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, said the ministry.

In February, Mongolia received 300,000 doses of China-donated vaccines.

So far, Mongolia has registered more than 9,300 COVID-19 cases, with 14 deaths.

In recent days, more than 300 infections have been reported on a daily basis in Mongolia, mostly in the capital Ulan Bator, home to over half of the country's total population.

Domestic transmissions of the virus have been reported in the capital city and 16 of all 21 provinces of the country.

It is estimated that about 60 percent of the country's total population is at high risk of infection.

On April 2, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene became acquainted with the operations of the companies engaged in public transportation services in Ulaanbaatar city and gave orders to corresponding officials regarding the pressing issues and COVID-19 safety precautions.

Statistics show that there are a total of 1,822 vehicles of public transport services, including 1,148 buses, 48 trolleybuses, 17 stretch buses, 46 mid-sized buses, and 59 mini-sized buses, and 503 taxis, registered in the database of public transportation of Ulaanbaatar, and 960 of them are operating daily along the public transport routes.

PM Oyun-Erdene highlighted that as the risk of coronavirus spreading on public transport remains high, strict sterilization and disinfection measures must be adhered to in public vehicles until the vaccination program is completed.

He ordered state-owned enterprises to deploy their buses for public transportation starting April 5, Monday, during peak traffic periods of the day to improve the accessibility of public transport services and help allowing social distancing inside buses. “However, these measures should be taken without imposing an additional financial burden on the companies,” the PM noted.

During today’s working trip to the public transportation companies, B.Odsuren, Ulaanbaatar city’s Mayor Deputy introduced about the indispensable and immediate need to update vehicles of public transportation since over 60 percent of total vehicles traveling on road are more than 10 years old. According to officials of Ulaanbaatar city, 45 percent of 524 trolleybuses are to be eliminated from public transport services this year due to the retirement age set for the vehicles, and 247 of them are vehicles of Ulaanbaatar city-owned companies.

At the end of his trip, PM Oyun-Erdene gave an order to the Ministry of Road and Transport Development and Ulaanbaatar city departments and companies responsible for the public transport management and operations to conduct a general study and report back to the cabinet within 30 days.

Minister of Road and Transport L.Khaltar, Minister of Finance B.Javkhlan, and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar city D.Sumiyabazar were also charged to evaluate possibilities to make a comprehensive update to the public transport vehicles and have a unified system for public transport management.

In addition, the Prime Minister highlighted that the MNT 356 billion of the total payment collected from Oyu Tolgoi LLC under the Mongolian Tax Authority’s Tax Act has been transferred to the capital city’s budget and the money could be invested for the public transport reforms.

Earlier today (1 April), former MP N.Nomtoibayar was released from prison after serving nine months of his term.

In July, 2020, N.Nomtoibayar was sentenced to five years and five months in prison for abuse of power. Later, the sentence was reduced to a year in prison and he was banned from government office for two years.

N.Nomtoibayar was found guilty of giving privileges to others by abusing power, including ordering the implementation of 29 projects and programmes in his capacity as Mongolian Minister of Labour and Social Protection. The 42-year-old served as labour and social protection minister from 2016 to 2017.

The former member of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party recently ran for parliamentary elections as an independent candidate but failed to win a seat in the country’s 76-seat unicameral parliament. N.Nomtoibayar received his candidate certificate from the GEC on 22 May to run for the Khan-Uul District of Ulaanbaatar.

China's top legislator Li Zhanshu held talks with Gombojav Zandanshatar, Mongolia's parliamentary speaker, via video link on Wednesday. Both sides agreed to enhance exchanges and cooperation between their legislative bodies.

Li, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Mongolia have understood and supported each other and set a model of cooperation between neighboring countries in the fight against the pandemic, which illustrated the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.

China and Mongolia should continue to strengthen mutual political trust in the post-pandemic period, further develop mutually beneficial cooperation, and accelerate the alignment of China's Belt and Road Initiative and Mongolia's Prairie Road development strategy, to better benefit the two peoples and promote the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, Li said.

The two legislative bodies should continue to strengthen friendly exchanges, maintain close high-level exchanges, promptly approve, revise or issue legal documents that are conducive to improving bilateral ties, and strengthen exchanges of experience in implementing the rule of law, developing the economy, improving people's livelihoods, and maintaining stability.

Zandanshatar said the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the NPC and make positive contributions to promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

On March 31, the Government of Mongolia and the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) announced the entry-into-force of the $350 million Mongolia Water Compact designed to sustain economic growth and reduce poverty through the expansion of bulk water supply in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, and enhancing the long-term financial, institutional, and environmental sustainability of the water sector.

"We are delighted to announce the entry-into-force of the Mongolia Water Compact, which aims at enhancing the water supply of Ulaanbaatar and ensuring sustainable economic development. The entry-into-force today marks the official start of a five-year timeline to implement the Compact Program," said B. Battsetseg, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Board of Directors of MCA-Mongolia.

She further emphasized, “Over the past two years, we have worked to successfully meet the Conditions Precedent to the Compact entry-into-force, while undertaking necessary preparations for projects and activities to be funded by the Compact. Despite numerous challenges posed by the global pandemic, the Government of Mongolia was able to fulfill its responsibilities and enable the timely commencement of the Compact Program, as a result of efficient risk assessment practices and a focus on operational continuity.”

“A period of heightened responsibility is ahead of us to undertake the physical construction of two new water infrastructures in Ulaanbaatar,” noted E. Sodontogos, CEO of MCA-Mongolia. “We have to complete the projects within five years. In order to achieve that, MCA-Mongolia must always consider two critical factors: Schedule and Quality. Unlike other Compact countries, the construction season in Mongolia is substantially short. Therefore, we must plan and implement our work with great precision to race against time. Quality is of the essence. To ensure quality, contractors with both dedication and experience have to be selected to anticipate, mitigate, and manage the risks related with Covid-19 and others. We are confident that we will overcome potential challenges and successfully implement the Mongolia Water Compact through joint effort and mutual understanding of our stakeholders, including the Government of Mongolia, the Capital City authority, the private sector, the academia and the general public.”

The Government of Mongolia and the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation signed the $350 million Mongolia Water Compact on July 27, 2018. The Compact is funding major infrastructure projects, including the construction of new wellfields and two large plants - an Advanced Water Purification Plant and Wastewater Recycling Plant which will be the first of their kind in Mongolia. In addition, the Compact will invest in policy measures to create a financially and environmentally sustainable future for the water sector of Ulaanbaatar. By 2026, the water system in Ulaanbaatar will have been expanded to deliver 80% more drinking water, allowing for the city’s future expansion.

Source: MCA Mongolia

In Mongolia, 394 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the past 24 hours, reported at the regular press briefing of the Ministry of Health today on April 1.

Specifically, there were 266 new cases detected in the capital and the rest were recorded in the 13 provinces. Today, the total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Mongolia stands at 8841, of which 7266 cases were recorded in Ulaanbaatar and 1038 in provinces.

In the past 24 hours, 150 people have been discharged from the hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to 5,070. Currently 1,906 patients are receiving treatment at hospitals of the capital city and provinces.