A couple stand along Marina Bay promenade at night in Singapore on May 15, 2021.
(ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
WELLINGTON / SYDNEY / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / YANGON / SINGAPORE / ADEN / JERUSALEM / ANKARA / NEW DELHI / TOKYO / VIENTIANE / ISLAMABAD / MANILA / PHNOM PENH – A Singapore court sentenced a British man to six weeks in prison on Wednesday, local media reported, after he repeatedly breached coronavirus protocols by refusing to wear a face mask in public.
Benjamin Glynn, 40, was found guilty on four charges over his failure to wear a mask on a train in May and at a subsequent court appearance in July, as well as causing a public nuisance and using threatening words towards public servants.
Glynn was earlier subjected to a psychiatric assessment ordered by the judge as a result of his conduct and remarks in court.
On Wednesday, he asked the court to drop what he called "unlawful charges" and asked for his passport to be returned so that he could go back to Britain to be with his family, according to media outlet CNA.
It quoted the judge as telling Glynn that he was "completely misguided" in is belief that he was exempt from Singapore's laws on wearing masks.
The Asian business hub is well-known for its enforcement of strict rules and has jailed and fined others for breaking COVID-19 regulations. Some foreigners have had their work permits revoked for rule breaches.
The city-state has kept its coronavirus outbreaks under control, in part due to its strict enforcement or measures.
Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 56 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total tally in the country to 66,281.
The new infections included 52 locally transmitted cases. As many as 35 are linked to previous cases and have already been placed under quarantine. Three are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance, while 14 are currently unlinked.
A pedestrian wearing a face mask crosses a street in downtown Melbourne on Aug 6, 2021. (CON CHRONIS / AFP)
Australia
Australia recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in recent months on Wednesday when half of the country's capital cities were under lockdown to battle a third wave of coronavirus infections.
There were 679 new cases of COVID-19 reported nationwide on Wednesday morning.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country was "in a tunnel" but vaccines were "rays of light" after a record 273,000 people were vaccinated on Tuesday.
Of Wednesday's reported new cases, 633 were in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state with Sydney as the capital city, 24 in Victoria and 22 in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The Northern Territory (NT), which is partially also in lockdown, reported zero new cases for the second consecutive day. And Darwin was the fourth capital city of Australia's eight states and territories currently locked-down, with residents of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra already subject to strict stay-at-home restrictions.
Brunei
Brunei reported 65 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, including 61 local infections and four imported cases, bringing the national tally to 852.
According to Brunei's Ministry of Health, while the source of infection of 18 new cases is still under investigation, 30 cases are related to nine active clusters already identified and the remaining 13 local cases are related to two new clusters confirmed on Tuesday.
Cambodia
Cambodia has administered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 9.15 million people, or 57 percent of the kingdom's 16-million population so far, Ministry of Health's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said Wednesday.
Some 7.48 million of them have completed the two-dose inoculation, Vandine said in a report.
"As of Aug 17, about 85.23 percent of the 10 million targeted adults and 32.25 percent of the 2 million targeted adolescents aged 12-17 have been vaccinated," she said.
Most of the vaccines in the kingdom's immunization program are China's Sinovac and Sinopharm.
The country confirmed 593 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, pushing the national total caseload to 87,190, the Ministry of Health said, adding that 12 more fatalities had been registered, bringing the overall death toll to 1,730.
India
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 32,285,857 on Wednesday, as 35,178 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to the federal health ministry's latest data.
As many as 440 deaths due to the pandemic since Monday morning took the total death toll to 432,519.
Indonesia
Indonesia’s Food and Drugs Agency has authorized Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia to develop the country’s own COVID-19 vaccine, according to Penny Lukito, head of the agency.
Biotis is to partner with Airlangga University to develop and produce the vaccine, named Merah Putih vaccine, Lukito said in a press conference on Wednesday
Biotis is in phase 2 clinical trials and will proceed with phase 3 soon, with the agency expected to grant emergency use authorization in the first half of 2022.
Israel
Israel's Ministry of Health reported 6,265 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 954,323.
The death toll from the coronavirus rose by 12 to 6,699, according to the ministry.
A woman wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk on a street in Tokyo on Aug 17, 2021. (KOJI SASAHARA / AP)
Japan
Record COVID-19 cases sprang up across Japan on Wednesday, media said a day after the government expanded emergency measures to fight a wave fuelled by the infectious Delta variant that has put the medical system under threat.
The western prefecture of Osaka reported a record 2,296 cases. Neighbouring Hyogo, the central prefecture of Aichi, and Fukuoka prefecture in the south all set records of more than 1,000 new infections, media said.
Tokyo's 5,386 daily cases were just off last Friday's all-time high.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extended a state of emergency in the capital and other regions on Tuesday while expanding the measure to seven more prefectures, to counter a spike in cases.
The emergency covering nearly 60 percent of Japan's population will now run until Sept 12, beyond its previous expiry date of Aug 31.
Tokyo was the epicentre of a fifth wave of infections since the pandemic began. More than 80 percent of its critical care beds are occupied, stoking concern that hospitals nationwide will fill up as the virulent strain spreads.
The emergency measures mean restaurants are being asked to close early and stop serving alcohol. The government is also looking to curb visitors to department stores and other crowded sites as it works to add hospital beds and vaccines.
Laos
Laos' daily COVID-19 cases hit a new high of 381 on Wednesday, taking the country's total tally of infections to 11,029.
ALSO READ: Japan extends virus emergency lockdown as cases surge
Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control under the Lao Ministry of Health, Sisavath Soutthaniraxay, told a press conference in Lao capital Vientiane on Wednesday that the new cases recorded over the past 24 hours included 333 imported cases and 48 local transmissions.
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 22,242 new COVID-19 infections in the highest daily spike since the outbreak, bringing the national total to 1,466,512, the Health Ministry said Wednesday.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that four of the new cases are imported and 22,238 are local transmissions.
Another 225 deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 13,302.
Volunteers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carry the body of a victim of the coronavirus to a cemetery in Hlegu Township in Yangon on July 10, 2021. (YE AUNG THU / AFP)
Myanmar
Myanmar reported 3,306 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the tally to 360,291 on Tuesday, according to a release from the Ministry of Health.
The death toll has increased to 13,623 after 178 new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, the release said.
New Zealand
New Zealand's city streets were largely deserted on Wednesday as the country returned to life in lockdown for the first time in six months in a bid to halt any spread of the infectious Delta variant of COVID-19.
Ardern on Wednesday confirmed the new case was the Delta variant and said there were now 5 confirmed cases in total, all linked to the original infection.
One of the new cases is a fully vaccinated nurse from Auckland Hospital.
"We have always had our way of responding and it's go hard and go early, because it's much better than going light and long and ending up in prolonged lockdowns," Ardern said in a video posted on Facebook.
The country will be in level 4 lockdown, the highest alert level, for at least three days, while Auckland will remain in lockdown for seven days.
Shoppers lineup to enter a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand on Aug 17, 2021. New Zealand's government took drastic action Tuesday by putting the entire nation into a strict lockdown after detecting just a single community case of the coronavirus. (JASON OXENHAM / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP)
New Zealand confirmed three more Delta cases of COVID-19 in the community, bringing the total number of community cases to 10 on Wednesday, including one fully-vaccinated nurse from an Auckland hospital.
Nine of these cases have been linked to other community cases that resulted in the country's second national top level lockdown starting Tuesday midnight. The remaining case has been linked to the border, according to the Ministry of Health.
The three new cases, who are all in Auckland, are a man in his 20s who is the partner of a known case, a woman in her 60s who has a connection to the border, and a woman in her 20s who has a connection with another case reported earlier on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said genome sequencing results confirmed that it is the Delta variant that is linked to genome sequencing of cases in Australia's New South Wales outbreak.
"Our case has originated in Australia," Ardern told a press conference. The trans-Tasman free quarantine travel started in April and was suspended last month due to the outbreak in Australia's several states.
Pakistan
Pakistan reported 3,974 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Wednesday.
According to the NCOC, 66 more patients died over the last 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll to 24,639, adding that 4,885 are in critical condition
.Workers in protective gear lower a coffin of a COVID-19 victim for burial at the special section of the Pedurenan cemetery designated to accommodate the surge in deaths during the coronavirus outbreak in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia on Aug. 12, 2021. (ACHMAD IBRAHIM / AP)
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian countries need more help securing COVID-19 vaccines, as the region struggles to contain record infections and deaths driven by the Delta variant, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
The region escaped the worst when the pandemic erupted last year, but in recent weeks has seen the highest deaths globally, as soaring infections push fragile healthcare systems to the brink and expose sluggish vaccination rollouts.
"This COVID-19 surge driven by the Delta variant is claiming a tragic toll on families across Southeast Asia and it's far from over," Alexander Matheou, Asia Pacific Director, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement.
It noted that most Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia have been posting record COVID-19 infections or fatalities.
"In the short-term, we need much greater efforts by richer countries to urgently share their millions of excess vaccine doses with countries in Southeast Asia, said Matheou, adding that vaccine companies and governments also needed to share technology and boost production.
"These coming weeks are critical for scaling up treatment, testing and vaccinations, in every corner of all countries in Southeast Asia," he said, adding that there must be a target for vaccination rates of 70-80 percent.
A medical worker wearing protective gear in a booth, takes sample from a woman during a COVID-19 testing at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea, Aug 12, 2021. (LEE JIN-MAN / AP)
South Korea
South Korea wants to have 70 percent of its population vaccinated by the end of September, the premier said, speeding up one of the lowest inoculation rates among major Asian economies as cases surge to record highs.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, at the forefront of the government’s pandemic policy, said Tuesday that South Korea would keep funneling aid to small businesses hurt by strict social distancing measures aimed at stemming a record COVID-19 wave powered by the delta variant.
Kim indicated Seoul would do all it can to avoid a lockdown.
“We’re looking at various ways, such as cross-inoculation with other companies, in order to reach a 70 percent first-shot vaccination rate by the end of September,” Kim said in interview with Bloomberg, referring to the mix of COVID-19 vaccines from suppliers including Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc.
“If we were to be ambitious, we could reach a 70 percent rate for second shots by the end of October or at least mid-November,” said Kim, who took office earlier this year and is a key player in virus policy for President Moon Jae-in until his single, five-year term ends in about nine months.
South Korea reported 1,805 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 228,657. Five deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 2,178.
ALSO READ: Yonhap: S. Korea sees record daily virus tally of over 2,000
Thailand
Thailand reported 312 fatalities, a fresh record single-day tally, as the nation’s total death toll passed the 8,000 level.
There were 20,515 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours pushing total infections to 968,957, according to government data.
The Philippines
The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 11,085 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,776,495.
The death toll climbed to 30,623 after 161 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added.
People walk along Istiklal Street, the main shopping street in Istanbul on July 27, 2021. (MUCAHID YAPICI / AP)
Turkey
Turkey on Tuesday registered 21,692 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,118,508, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 183 to 53,507, the ministry said.
Vietnam
Vietnam reported 8,800 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, including 8,788 local infections and 12 imported cases, according to its Ministry of Health, bringing the tally to 302,101, with 6,770 deaths.
Most of the community cases were detected in southern localities, including 3,731 in the epicenter Ho Chi Minh City, 2,513 in nearby Binh Duong province, and 443 in Dong Nai province.
Poland will provide Vietnam with more than 3.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, including a donation of 501,000 AstraZeneca Plc shots, according to Vietnam’s government website, which cited Poland’s ambassador to Vietnam, Wojciech Gerwel.
Vietnam has received more than 19 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from various sources, of which nearly 15.3 million doses have been administered. About 1.4 percent of residents in the country of 98 million people was fully vaccinated as of Monday.
Yemen
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the government-controlled Yemeni provinces reached 7,347 on Tuesday with 39 new cases, as the country's health authorities declared a third wave of the coronavirus.
According to a brief statement released by the country's Ministry of Health, two new deaths and 17 recoveries were also officially recorded by the medical teams.
It said that the total confirmed deaths reached 1,407 and recoveries rose to 4,543 in the government-controlled provinces.