Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP)
TOKYO / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SEOUL / NEW DELHI – Australia has reported a 38 percent increase in COVID-19 cases amid a fourth national wave of infections.
According to data published by the federal Department of Health, an average of 10,799 new COVID-19 infections were reported nationally every day in the week to Friday.
It represents an increase of 38.2 percent from the previous week (7,809 per day on average) and a 103 percent increase from 5,300 cases per day in the first week of November.
On average, 1,973 COVID-19 patients were being treated in hospitals every day, up from the previous figure of 1,553, and more than 110 deaths were recorded across the country.
In response to the increase, Australia's largest state New South Wales (NSW) has reimposed restrictions, making face masks mandatory in all areas of public hospitals and health facilities.
The president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Steve Robson, has warned the hospital system could be placed under immense pressure if cases continue to rise into the "high risk" Christmas period.
"Most of the protections have been lifted, and the message the community has is that maybe you shouldn't worry as much as you did in the past," Steve told Sky News Australia.
India
India's daily COVID-19 caseload recorded on Friday increased to 654 from 626 on the previous day, officials said.
According to federal health ministry data released on Friday morning, the active caseload currently stands at 7,034 in the South Asian country.
The country also logged seven more COVID-19-related deaths, taking the death toll to 530,553 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.
A woman wearing a face mask checks out her mobile phone as she walks across an intersection of the famed Ginza shopping district in Tokyo on June 3, 2022. (HIRO KOMAE / AP)
Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan government on Thursday raised its COVID-19 alert to the second-highest level on its four-tier scale.
The alert was set at the second-highest level for the first time since Oct 6.
At the coronavirus monitoring meeting of the metropolitan government on Thursday, an expert warned that the capital "can be considered to be entering the eighth wave of infections."
As of Thursday, the capital's seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases stands at 8,276, up 24.7 percent from a week before, with daily cases exceeding the 10,000 threshold the two previous days, the highest level in two months.
Based on an estimate presented at the meeting, the seven-day average would reach around 12,300 by the end of this month if new infections increase at the current pace.
The resurgence of the virus came after the Japanese government lifted its restrictions on individual passengers, spontaneous trips, and daily entry caps last month.
It also launched the National Travel Discount program, which provided subsidies of up to 11,000 yen ($79) per person for a maximum of seven nights.
As COVID-19 and influenza spread simultaneously, the metropolitan government pledged at the meeting to promote the capital's medical capacity to be able to treat up to 127,000 outpatients with fever each day.
A man shops for face masks in Divisoria, a local shopping district in Manila on May 17, 2022. (JAM STA ROSA / AFP)
Philippines
The Philippines reported 1,153 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 4,022,127.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases dropped to 18,467, while another nine patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 64,441.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 308 new cases.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said all areas in the country are under low-risk classification, while hospital admission continues to be manageable.
A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 2,088 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 2,148,794.
A total of 200 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 11 of them in intensive care units, according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.
One new death from COVID-19 was reported on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 1,699.
South Korea
South Korea reported 49,418 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Thursday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 26,462,319, the health authorities said Friday.
The daily caseload was down from 55,437 the previous day and lower than 54,519 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
For the past week, the daily average number of new cases was 52,983.
Among the newly reported infections, 66 were imported cases, lifting the total to 70,706.
In addition, 63 more deaths were confirmed from the pandemic, taking the death toll to 29,925.
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 509 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up seven from Wednesday's caseload, according to the Ministry of Health.
All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.
The new infections brought the total tally to 11,510,484. The country reported no new deaths from the pandemic on Thursday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,167.