Migrant laborers returning to the city for work queue up to register for COVID-19 test in New Delhi, India, Aug 18, 2020. (MANISH SWARUP / AP)
RAMALLAH / SYDNEY / JERUSALEM / DUBAI / SEOUL / WELLINGTON – India reported 46,951 new infections, the highest of this year, taking the total to 11,646,081.
Meanwhile, 212 more deaths recorded during the past 24 hours took the death toll to 159,967.
Both the numbers of new cases and additional deaths are the highest so far this year.
India's health ministry on Monday wrote to states asking them to administer second AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses to recipients within four to eight weeks, from the current guideline of four to six weeks.
Japan
Japan’s major tour bus firm Hato Bus Co. resumed its operations on Monday following the lifting of a coronavirus state of emergency for the Tokyo area, allowing passengers to enjoy fresh air and cherry blossoms in full bloom from an open top bus.
The Japanese government on Sunday lifted the state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, where restrictions had remained since early January, as the availability of hospital beds had improved in the region.
“I have been working from home for a long time and had no chance to go out. So, (cherry blossoms) cheered me up very much,” Masumi Ishii, a passenger, told Reuters after the tour.
On Hato Bus’s open-top sightseeing bus that departed Tokyo station on Monday, all the 25 seats available on the upper deck were filled with passengers.
They enjoyed taking pictures and reached out for cherry blossom petals along the roads.
Sri Lanka
The number of positive COVID-19 patients in Sri Lanka reached 90,200 on Monday after 342 new patients were detected a day earlier, statistics from the health ministry showed.
According to official figures, a total of 86,759 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospitals, bringing the active patients to 2,895, and 546 deaths have been recorded.
Sri Lanka, in February, began a mass vaccination program in the country's Western Province including capital Colombo where over 800,000 people have been inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccines to date.
Iran
Iran reported 7,357 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, raising its nationwide caseload to 1,808,422.
The pandemic has so far claimed 61,877 lives in Iran, up by 80 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.
Of the newly infected, 773 were hospitalized, Lari added.
A total of 1,549,649 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 3,861 remain in intensive care units, she noted.
According to the spokeswoman, 12,221,274 tests for the virus have been carried out in Iran as of Monday.
Australia
Australia's medical regulator has approved the domestically-produced AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Sunday night announced the approval of the doses of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured in Melbourne by biotechnology company CSL.
In a statement it described the approval as a "critical and very exciting milestone" in Australia's pandemic response.
"Specific approval of Australian manufacturing by TGA was required to ensure that the locally-manufactured vaccine had exactly the same composition and performance as overseas-manufactured vaccine, was made to the same quality and is free of contaminants," it said.
Australia has agreed to acquire 53.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 50 million of which will be produced by CSL.
Cambodia
Cambodia confirmed 73 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total number of infections in the kingdom to 1,753, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement.
The country also reported one more death, bringing the total number of deaths from the coronavirus epidemic in the kingdom to four.
The new infections included 71 local cases – 32 in Preah Sihanouk province, 28 in capital Phnom Penh, five in Kampong Thom province, three in Kandal province, and one each in Siem Reap, Prey Veng and Kep provinces – and two imported cases, the statement said.
The imported cases were detected on two Indonesian women, in their 20s, who traveled to the country on Saturday from Indonesia via a connecting flight in Singapore, it added.
Iraq
In Iraq, the health ministry reported 4,502 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 793,892.
It also reported 38 new deaths, taking the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,007, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,374 to 715,073.
Isreal
In Israel, the health ministry reported 499 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 827,698. The death toll in Israel rose to 6,087 with five new fatalities, while the total recoveries increased by 3,114 to 805,358.
Israel has lifted a restriction on the number of incoming and outgoing passengers at the airport after the Supreme Court ruled that the two-month-long measure has been "unconstitutional."
Jordan
Jordan on Sunday reported 8,789 new COVID-19 cases, increasing its caseload to 535,455.
The death toll from the virus climbed to 5,876 with the addition of 88 new fatalities, according to a joint statement issued by the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.
The ratio of tests that have a positive result stood at nearly 18.89 percent, compared with 18.80 percent reported on Saturday.
Kuwait
The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported 1,192 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 219,125.
The ministry also announced 11 more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,226, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,331 to 203,539.
Lebanon
Lebanon is in talks with Russia on the possibility of manufacturing the Sputnik vaccine at one of the country’s companies.
The caretaker premier held a meeting with the Russian ambassador, the caretaker industry minister and the chairman of the Beirut-based Arwan Lebanon, which seeks to manufacture the vaccine, on Monday.
Lebanon registered 2,968 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total number of infections to 439,543. The death toll from the virus in Lebanon went up by 42 to 5,757.
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New Zealand
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will announce within two weeks a date for quarantine-free travel with Australia, she said on Monday, despite mounting pressure from business to open borders with neighbouring countries.
The government hopes to announce a start date on April 6, Ardern told a news conference, adding that while opening borders with neighbours was a priority, several concerns needed to be resolved first.
The New Zealand government has extended support to the aviation sector through the end of October 2021 to help keep the country connected with trade partners and maintain international passenger services, Transport Minister Michael Wood said on Monday.
The government moved swiftly to keep freight flowing at the beginning of the pandemic to help support the economic recovery, Wood said in a statement.
New Zealand reported eight more cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation and no new cases in the community since Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health on Monday.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is four, said a ministry statement.
The eight new imported cases came from India, Britain and Ethiopia, and have remained in managed isolation and quarantine facilities in Auckland, it said.
Oman
The Omani Health Ministry reported 1,665 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the sultanate to 150,800.
Oman's tally of recoveries surged by 1,229 to 139,100, while its death toll rose by two to 1,622, according to a ministry statement.
Palestinians wait to receive a dose of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)'s Sheikh Redwan clinic in Gaza City on March 16, 2021.(MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Palestine
Palestine on Sunday launched a mass vaccination rollout campaign against coronavirus in a bid to combat the fast-spreading virus across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye started the campaign in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"The vaccination rollout will be carried out with full transparency, and anyone exceeding priorities regarding inoculating the vaccines will be held accountable," Ishtaye said at a press conference held in Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.
"Vaccination will be conducted according to the registration platform," he said.
Ishtaye added that Palestine is set to receive more vaccines, including a shipment of 100,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines from China.
On Wednesday, Palestine received the first batch of the coronavirus vaccine from the global COVAX program, which has some 62,000 doses, including 38,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 24,000 of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
COVAX is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to coronavirus vaccines, co-led by the World Health Organization and its partners.
On Sunday, Palestine recorded 2,247 new coronavirus cases, 21 deaths and 1,753 recoveries in 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 cases to 223,638, death toll to 2,427, and total recoveries to 198,431.
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PNG
New anti-COVID-19 measures came into effect in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Monday to help slow rising virus numbers, following the news that a member of the country's parliament had passed away due to the virus.
Over the weekend, officials reported that Richard Mendani, the Member for Kerema Open electorate, had died after falling ill in the capital city of Port Moresby last month.
The 53-year-old reported to hospital on Feb. 24 with respiratory symptoms, and after initially being diagnosed with pneumonia, tested positive for COVID-19.
"The threat of death from COVID-19 is real, and sadly the Late Honourable Member paid the ultimate price and lost his life because of this terrible virus," PNG's Pandemic Controller David Manning said.
Qatar
Qatari Health Ministry recorded 503 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 173,709.
It also confirmed 336 more recoveries from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 160,451, while the death toll increased by one to 273.
South Korea
South Korea reported 415 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 99,075.
The daily caseload was down from 456 in the previous day, but it stayed above 400 for six straight days.
The daily number of infections hovered above 100 since Nov. 8 last year owing to cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.
Of the new cases, 108 were Seoul residents and 143 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.
Nineteen cases were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 7,443.
One more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,697. The total fatality rate stood at 1.71 percent.
Thailand
Thailand on Monday reported 73 new COVID-19 cases, mostly domestic, and one fatality, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Of Monday's new cases, 66 were reported as domestic infections while seven others were imported cases, the CCSA spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan said.
Of those domestic cases, 33 were confirmed in Samut Sakhon, 21 in Bangkok and six in Pathum Thani, among other provinces, Apisamai said.
The Philippines
The Philippines on Monday reported a record daily rise of 8,019 COVID-19 infections, as authorities implemented tighter curbs in the congested capital region and hospital capacity neared critical levels in some areas.
In a bulletin, the health ministry said total confirmed cases had reached 671,792, while deaths increased by four to 12,972. It was the third time the Philippines has posted a fresh high in daily cases in the past four days.
The UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported 1,717 new COVID-19 cases and five more fatalities, taking its caseload to 440,355 and death toll to 1,438. The tally of recoveries in the UAE surged by 1,960 to 422,696.
Turkey
Turkey's COVID-19 caseload crossed the 3-million mark on Sunday after 20,428 new infections were added. M
Turkey's total COVID-19 cases surged to 3,013,122, while its death toll from the virus rose by 102 to 30,061, according to the Turkish Health Ministry. The total recoveries from the disease in Turkey climbed to 2,825,187 after 17,615 more patients recovered.