An advertisement placard informs the public of the location of a designated COVID-19 vaccination center at Dubai's financial center district, in the United Arab Emirates, on Jan 24, 2021. (GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP)
BAGHDAD/ ANKARA/ SEOUL/ WELLINGTON/ HANOI/ SINGAPORE/ BANGKOK / NEW DELHI -Visitors to Dubai’s World Expo won’t be required to provide COVID-19 vaccination certificates or get tested to enter one of the world’s biggest in-person events since the pandemic began.
The exhibition, expected to attract 25 million visits over six months, will though mostly require people to keep their masks on and respect social distancing rules, an Expo spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
READ MORE: Dubai aims to vaccinate all eligible adults by yearend
Dubai, the business hub of the United Arab Emirates, is keen to show it’s up and running, after the pandemic hit hard an economy built on international commerce and finance. The UAE is open to all visitors as long as they provide a negative virus result, with some allowed to have a test at Dubai airport after they land. They are expected to self-isolate until they get their results.
Dubai’s Expo approach contrasts with those of other countries like the UK, which announced it is considering mandating vaccine passports to access large venues, or France where the constitutional court backed Emmanuel Macron’s decision to require proof of vaccination or a negative test in order to eat out or travel.
In neighboring Abu Dhabi, another of the emirates making up the UAE, some public spaces are restricted to those who have been vaccinated. Dubai, meanwhile, has stayed largely open since coming out of lockdown more than a year ago.
The exhibition is also using robots and wearable technology to assist with visitor-facing interactions including ticketing and queuing. All members of staff around the Expo site have already received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
The general view shows empty streets in central Brisbane early on August 1, 2021, after Australia's third-largest city Brisbane and other parts of Queensland state entered a snap Covid-19 lockdown late on July 31. (PATRICK HAMILTON / AFP)
Australia
Australia's third most populous state said on Saturday it may order a snap lockdown after a cluster of COVID-19 cases, as the country posted a record one-day rise in daily infections.
Queensland state, home to more than 5 million people, said it had detected five new infections in the past 24 hours after a family tested positive for COVID-19. The next few days would be critical to see if a lockdown was warranted, authorities said.
"If we start seeing any seeding, then we may have to take very quick, fast action. But at the moment, it’s contained to the family," said state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
The family lives in Brisbane, the state's capital. It was not clear whether a lockdown would be limited to some parts of the state like previous orders.
The Australian state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, is currently under lockdown as are the cities of Melbourne and Canberra, and a lockdown for Queensland would be another blow to Australia's A$2 trillion (US$1.5 trillion) economy which could slip into a second recession in as many years.
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Although some states have yet to report Saturday numbers, Australia has so far logged at least 2,054 infections, which compares with the previous record of 1,903 for the whole country a day earlier.
New South Wales, which has been under strict stay-at-home orders for nearly three months, said it detected 1,599 new infections. In neighboring Victoria, authorities reported 450, the biggest one-day rise in locally acquired cases in more than a year.
Australia has now recorded nearly 73,000 COVID-19 cases and a death toll of 1,084.
India
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 33,208,330 on Saturday, as 33,376 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, the federal health ministry's latest data showed.
Besides, as many as 308 deaths due to the pandemic since Friday morning took the total death toll to 442,317.
Most of the new cases and deaths were reported from the southern state of Kerala.
Iran
Iran’s imports of COVID-19 vaccines surpassed 50 million doses after the country took delivery of 3.3 million doses of the Sinopharm shot on Friday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing customs data.
Iran has stepped up efforts to import coronavirus vaccines as its deaths and infections hit record levels in recent weeks and its multitude of domestic immunization initiatives struggle to get off the ground.
Iraq
The Iraqi Ministry of Health said on Friday that Iraq has passed the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic due to large-scale vaccination as total number of vaccines administered exceeded 4 million.
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The ministry reported 4,717 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, raising the nationwide caseload to 1,944,125. It also confirmed 61 more deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 21,394.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported 24 new cases of COVID-19, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Saturday.
Of the 24 new cases of COVID-19, 23 were community cases in Auckland and one case was identified at the border, said the ministry.
Philippines
The Philippines will bar travelers from Azerbaijan, Guadeloupe, Guam, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Saint Lucia and Switzerland from Sept 12 through Sept 18, according to a statement from presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Friday evening.
The Philippines' Department of Health reported 26,303 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, the biggest single-day spike since the pandemic began in the Southeast Asian country.
The caseload brings the total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines to 2,206,021.
Singapore
Singapore confirmed 568 new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection and five imported cases Friday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release, bringing the total tally in the city-state to 70,612.
A total of 689 cases are currently warded in hospital.
South Korea
South Korea reported 1,865 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Friday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 271,227.
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The daily caseload was down from 1,892 in the prior day, but it hovered above 1,000 for 67 straight days.
Thailand
Thailand on Saturday reported 15,191 new COVID-19 cases and 253 more fatalities, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
The new cases have brought the country's total number of infections to top 1.36 million.
Turkey
Turkey on Friday confirmed 23,562 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,613,976, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 214 to 59,384.
Vietnam
Vietnam reported 13,321 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, including 13,306 locally transmitted and 15 imported, according to the country's Ministry of Health.
The new infections brought the country's total tally to 589,417, with 14,745 deaths.