BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (XINHUA) - Brunei extended its partial Covid-19 national lockdown measures for two weeks, as the country reported 122 new cases on Saturday (Aug 21), bringing the national tally to 1,455.

The new cases included 120 local infections and two imported cases, Brunei's Ministry of Health said.

While the source of infection of 79 local cases was still under investigation, 37 local cases were related to five active clusters already identified and four other local cases were related to one new cluster confirmed on Saturday.

It also marked the third consecutive day with daily new cases exceeding 100.

"Taking into account that the current situation is still unstable in Brunei Darussalam, it is hereby announced that the control measures that have been restricted and informed during the Ministry of Health's press conference on Aug 7 and Aug 9, 2021, are extended until Saturday, Sept 4, 2021," the ministry said in a statement.

All new cases in the active clusters were individuals who were being quarantined and were found to be in contact with several confirmed cases.

There are currently 1,096 active cases being treated and monitored at the National Isolation Centre, with three of them in critical condition requiring respiratory assistance and 22 other patients under close monitoring.

Before the detection of seven local cases on Aug 7, Brunei had kept a record of more than a year - a total of 457 days - without community infections.

Facing a new wave of outbreak and an increasingly difficult pandemic situation, the country introduced the strictest control measures within two days, with immediate effect until Aug 21.

Besides closing religious places, schools switching to online learning, no dine-in for restaurants, and closing indoor and outdoor sports facilities, leisure centres and cinemas, Brunei also banned most of the mass gatherings, requiring all non-essential sector workers to do work-from-home and barring all residents from leaving their houses without any important reason.