Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo on May 14, 2021, as the government expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to three more regions adding Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima. (YUICHI YAMAZAKI / POOL / AFP)
BAGHDAD / SINGAPORE / TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday announced an expansion of a state of emergency over COVID-19 to Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures.
The government has previously extended the state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto until the end of May while expanding it in Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures.
The emergency state was initially set to be eased on Tuesday.
“The spread of the virus differs by area, and it is spreading rapidly in some regions,” Suga said at the meeting. Less stringent restrictions will also be applied to a broader area of the country, he said.
The premier is facing public criticism for pressing ahead with the global sports spectacle amid worries it could be a superspreader event. The country’s vaccination rollout ranks among the slowest in the developed world — hampering Japan’s fight to stem infections.
Indonesia
The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 2,633 within one day to 1,734,285, with the death toll adding by 107 to 47,823, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
According to the ministry, 3,807 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 1,592,886.
India
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded the alarm over the rapid spread of the coronavirus through India's vast countryside on Friday, as the official tally of infections crossed 24 million, and 4,000 people died for the third straight day.
The highly transmissible B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus first detected in India is also spreading across the globe, and Modi said his government was "on a war footing" in its fight against the contagion.
"The outbreak is reaching rural areas with great speed," Modi said, addressing a group of farmers in a virtual conference. "I want to once again warn all farmers and all those who live in villages about corona."
Although about two-thirds of Indians live in rural towns and villages where healthcare facilities are meagre, it was the first time Modi has specifically referred to the spread of the virus in the countryside since a second wave of the epidemic erupted in February.
The Indian government has told doctors to look out for signs of mucormycosis or “black fungus” in COVID-19 patients as hospitals report a rise in cases of the rare but potentially fatal infection.
The state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said at the weekend that doctors treating COVID-19 patients, diabetics and those with compromised immune systems should watch for early symptoms including sinus pain or nasal blockage on one side of the face, one-sided headache, swelling or numbness, toothache and loosening of teeth.
The disease, which can lead to blackening or discolouration over the nose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties and coughing blood, is strongly linked to diabetes. And diabetes can in turn be exacerbated by steroids such as dexamethasone, used to treat severe COVID-19.
"There have been cases reported in several other countries – including the UK, US, France, Austria, Brazil and Mexico, but the volume is much bigger in India," said David Denning, a professor at Britain's Manchester University and an expert at the Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (GAFFI) charity.
"And one of the reasons is lots and lots of diabetes, and lots of poorly controlled diabetes."
India has not published national data on mucormycosis but has said there is no major outbreak. Media reports have pointed to cases in Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai, and Gujarat.
Myanmar
Myanmar reported 31 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 143,035 in total, according to a release from the Health and Sports Ministry on Friday.
The death toll stood at 3,212 while 132,072 recovered patients have been discharged from hospitals so far, the release said.
A total of 2,219 samples were tested for COVID-19 on Friday, down from around 10,000 samples tested daily in early February.
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 4,113 new COVID-19 infections and 34 more deaths, the Health Ministry said on Friday, bringing the national total to 462,190 and the death toll to 1,822.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that one of the new cases is imported and 4,112 are local transmissions.
Some 4,190 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 418,897 or 90.6 percent of all cases.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan on Friday recorded 70 new cases of COVID-19 after health authorities conducted 566 tests in the past 24 hours, its Ministry of Public Health said.
The new infections raised the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 to 63,419 in the Asian country, according to the ministry.
Singapore
Singapore is returning to the lockdown-like conditions it last imposed a year ago, banning dining-in and limiting gatherings to two people, as a rising number of untraceable virus infections pressures one of the most successful places in the world at COVID-19 containment.
For four weeks from May 16 to June 13, gathering sizes as well as household visitors will be cut to a maximum of two people from five people now, working from home will be the default, and food places can only do takeaways and deliveries, the health ministry said in a statement on Friday. The resurgence is also putting a highly-anticipated travel bubble with Hong Kong in doubt.
The Singapore dollar extended its decline after the announcement of the new rules. The city’s benchmark stock index bucked Asia’s positive trend to sink as much as 2.6 percent, the most since June 15, as at 1:41 pm local time, with shares of bellwether stocks like Singapore Airlines Ltd. all retreating.
“A pattern of local unlinked community cases has emerged and is persisting,” the statement said. “We need to act decisively to contain these risks as any one leak could result in an uncontrolled resurgence of cases.”
The number of new cases in the community has increased to 71 in the past week from 48 in the week before, the health ministry said Thursday, while the number of unlinked infections — the most concerning to officials as they signal undetected spread in the community — has risen to 15 in the past week from 7 in the week before.
While the numbers are far smaller than ongoing outbreaks in countries like the US that are charging ahead with opening up, the flareup is a major setback by Singapore standards, as the city-state is one of handful of “COVID havens” that had previously nearly eliminated the pathogen domestically. These places are now struggling to find a path to re-open as their vaccination drives lag major western economies.
Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 34 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 61,453.
Of the new cases, ten are imported cases and 24 are community cases.
Cambodia
Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MoH) on Friday reported a daily record of 358 confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total tally to 21,499.
The new infections included 350 local cases and eight imported cases, the MoH said in a statement.
Five more fatalities were recorded, taking the death toll to 147, it said, adding that 348 more patients recovered from the pandemic, raising the total number of recoveries to 9,867.
MoH's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said safe behaviors would help save lives, urging people to continue following health safety measures and to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when their turns come.
Mongolia
Mongolia on Friday decided to allow all coffee shops, swimming pools and training and fitness centers across the country to reopen, a further easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
The service organizations, which had been banned since early April, are expected to run at 50-percent capacity starting from Saturday, the country's State Emergency Commission said in a statement.
The ban on all kinds of gaming, restaurants, religious and entertainment services, bars, saunas and mass gatherings such as sports events and cultural activities across the country will stay unchanged, said the commission.
Mongolia imposed a nationwide lockdown on April 10 to curb the steep surge in local COVID-19 cases, and the lockdown restrictions have been eased gradually starting from May 8.
The Philippines
The Philippines will ban international arrivals from Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting Saturday amid concerns over the new coronavirus variant first detected in India, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.
"All travelers coming from Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or those with travel history to these two countries within the last 14 days preceding arrival shall be prohibited from entering the Philippines beginning 00:01 of May 15, 2021, until 23:59 of May 31, 2021," Roque said in a statement.
But passengers already in transit from these two countries and all those who have been to these countries "within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines" who arrive before May 15, 2021, will be allowed entry, Roque said.
He added that these travelers "shall be required to undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols."
Meanwhile, Roque said the Philippines has decided to retain the travel ban on India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for another two weeks until May 31.
The Philippines has detected the B.1.617 variants first found in India in two seafarers that arrived from Oman and the UAE last month.
There are four coronavirus variants of concern in the Philippines. The WHO classified the B.1.617 as "a variant of concern at a global level," citing "some available information to suggest increased transmissibility."
The Philippines now has 1,124,724 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 18,821 deaths
ALSO READ: Singapore sees most infections in 8 months amid airport cluster
Health worker carry patients to shift them from a dedicated COVID-19 hospital to another hospital to vacate the bed for new patients, at Civil hospital in Ahmedabad, India on April 13, 2021. (AJIT SOLANKI / AP)
Iraq
The Iraqi authorities decided on Thursday to ease COVID-19 restrictive measures and replace full curfew with a partial one to facilitate the vaccination campaign, as the country's total caseload reached 1,132,092.
A statement by the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said the committee decided to impose a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time instead of the 10-day full curfew imposed earlier in the week.
The committee also decided to continue closing malls, restaurants, cafes, and other public facilities until Monday when they will be allowed to operate from 5 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., according to the statement.
The committee's decisions come as the full curfew measures led to a decreasing number of people heading to vaccination centers, the statement explained.
On May 4, a statement by the media office of al-Kadhimi said the higher committee approved a full curfew from May 12 to May 22, and decided to close malls, restaurants, cafes, and other public facilities to control the spread of coronavirus.
Iraq's ministry of health reported 4,512 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total nationwide number to 1,132,092.
The ministry also reported 28 new COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 15,883, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,043 to 1,028,627.
Australia
Nearly half the 150 passengers booked on Australia's first repatriation flight from India were barred from boarding on Friday, after they or their close contacts tested positive for the coronavirus, an Australian government source said.
Tests have returned positive results for at least 40 passengers, or about 26 percent of the total, said the source, who sought anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to media, a figure much higher than the 3.5 percent seen in March.
By late afternoon, Australian media said that number was rising, with 9News and Sky reporting 48 infections and about 25 close contacts. Reuters was unable to verify that information.
The first repatriation flight for Australians from COVID-ravaged India will arrive in the Northern Territory on Saturday after the lifting of a two-week travel ban, officials said.
The flight will carry up to 150 citizens and permanent residents who will be required to spend two weeks in quarantine at a converted mining camp in remote Howard Springs, a Northern Territory health department spokeswoman said on Friday.
Canberra banned all travellers from India, including its own citizens, from entering Australia for two weeks until May 15 and said offenders could face jail, drawing criticism from some lawmakers, expatriates and the Indian diaspora.
The government aims to more than double capacity at Howard Springs, 25 kms southeast of Darwin, to 2,000 passengers every two weeks from June. There are about 9,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents in India seeking flights home.
Two further Royal Australian Air Force repatriation flights to the Northern Territory are scheduled this month, and authorities plan to repatriate about 1,000 people by the end of June. Vulnerable people will be given priority.
Vietnam
Vietnam reported 76 new COVID-19 cases from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time Friday, including 75 locally transmitted and one imported, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 3,816, according to its Ministry of Health.
The community cases were all detected in northern and central localities, including 40 in the northern Bac Ninh province, 18 in Vietnamese capital Hanoi and six in northern Bac Giang province, among others.
Most of the local transmissions are contacts of previously confirmed patients or linked to the clusters of infections in the localities.
Vietnam reported 30 new COVID-19 cases from 6 p.m. local time Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.
Vietnam is seeking 31 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech in 2021, its health ministry said on Friday, as the country seeks to secure its vaccines amid competition and supply uncertainty.
By end-2021, Vietnam expects to have received a total of 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including those of Pfizer/BioNTech, 30 million from AstraZeneca and 38.9 million doses via the COVAX scheme, the ministry said in a statement.
South Korea
South Korea reported 747 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Thursday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 130,380.
The daily caseload was up from 715 in the previous day, staying above 700 for two days. The daily average caseload for the past week was 619.
The daily number of infections hovered in triple figures since Nov. 8 last year due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.
Of the new cases, 229 were Seoul residents and 172 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.
Eighteen cases were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 8,671.
PNG
Papua New Guinea (PNG) announced on Thursday a further ease of COVID-19 restrictions.
According to a press release from the government on Friday, Police Commissioner and COVID-19 National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning issued 12 new measures which eased a number of restrictions imposed over the last six weeks to contain the pandemic.
The changes that took place since Thursday including the size of congregations in churches increasing to 100 alongside everyone practicing safe physical distancing.
As of May 17, businesses including bars that also have a connected restaurant and bottle shops could also reopen with eased restrictions to enable patrons to engage in social gatherings of limited size.
Thailand
Thailand Friday reported 2,256 new COVID-19 cases and 30 deaths, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Of the new infections, 2,251 were local transmissions and five others were imported cases, CCSA spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin told a briefing.
Some 33,186 patients are currently under medical treatment, with 1,203 reportedly in serious conditions, 408 of which on ventilators, Taweesin said.
The 30 fatalities reportedly involved varied pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney diseases and lung diseases, he said.
Turkey
Turkey will ease cautiously out of a full lockdown next week and lift restrictions more significantly in June, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, as cases have come down sharply from the peak of a fierce second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turkish authorities imposed the lockdown two weeks ago after the number of daily COVID-19 cases soared above 60,000, one of the highest rates globally, and deaths reached nearly 400 a day.
The surge has threatened to hit Turkey's lucrative summer tourism season, and has already prompted the switch of the Champions League final from Istanbul to Portugal, while Formula One called off the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix on Friday. Erdogan said that a "controlled normalisation calendar" would start on Monday.
Turkey on Thursday confirmed 11,534 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,217 symptomatic patients, as the total number in the country reached 5,083,996, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 238 to 44,059, while the total recoveries climbed to 4,856,763 after 55,472 more recovered in the last 24 hours.
The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients stands at four percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 2,765 in the country, said the ministry.
A total of 201,295 tests were conducted over the past day, raising the overall number of tests in Turkey to 50,259,943.
Turkey started mass vaccination for COVID-19 on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine. More than 14,774,000 people were vaccinated so far.
Israel
Israel's Ministry of Health reported 29 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total number in the country to 839,059.
The death toll from the virus remained unchanged at 6,379, while the number of patients in serious conditions decreased from 71 to 67, out of 129 hospitalized patients.
This is the lowest number of patients in serious conditions in Israel since July 1, 2020 when it stood at 59.
The total recoveries in Israel rose to 831,888 after 62 newly recovered cases were added, while the number of active cases decreased to 792, the lowest since March 20, 2020.
The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel has surpassed 5.43 million, or 58.2 percent of its total population.
Kuwait
The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Thursday 1,059 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 289,243.
The ministry also announced five more fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,674, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,265 to 274,554. A total of 13,015 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment, including 197 in the intensive care units.
Kuwaiti Minister of Health Bassel Al-Sabah said on Thursday that the coronavirus situation in Kuwait is expected to improve in the upcoming months as the ongoing vaccination campaign leads to a decrease in the number of daily infections.
The minister urged all to continue following social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Lebanon
Lebanon registered on Thursday 580 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 534,968, the Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths from the virus increased by 20 to 7,569.
Lebanese authorities imposed a total lockdown during Eid al-Fitr festival in hopes of reducing the number of daily infections further.
Lebanon has been fighting against the pandemic since Feb. 21, 2020.
Qatar
The Qatari health ministry on Thursday announced 299 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 212,423, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
Meanwhile, 752 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 205,160, while the fatalities increased by three to 522, according to a ministry statement quoted by QNA.
READ MORE: Thai virus epicenter aims to vaccinate majority of residents
Nepal
Driven by the COVID-19 epidemic, Nepal's import of medical equipment from China more than doubled during the first three quarters of the current 2020-21 fiscal year ending mid-July on a year-on-year basis, showed data released by the country's central bank.
According to figures released by the Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, Nepal's purchase of medical equipment from China surged by 117 percent to 3.12 billion Nepali rupees (26 million U.S. dollars) against 1.43 billion Nepali rupees (US$12 million) during the same period in the previous 2019-20 fiscal year.
The COVID-19 hit Nepal in the middle of 2019-20 fiscal year and the country more than doubled its imports of medical equipment from China in the year compared with the previous 2018-19 fiscal year, according to the Nepali central bank.
Oman
Oman will end a night curfew imposed last week to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic from Saturday, the kingdom's Supreme Committee for Combating Coronavirus said Thursday.
After the lift of the curfew, people and cars will be allowed to travel, but shops and commercial activities will be banned from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. local time.
On May 8, the committee imposed a strict curfew, forbidding the movement of people and vehicles from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. and suspending non-essential commercial activities in the daytime.
Daily COVID-19 cases rose in Oman at the start of the year but began to fall in recent weeks, as total confirmed cases reached 202,713, including 186,391 recoveries and 2,148 deaths.