Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a University Hospital Network (UHN) vaccination clinic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dec 15, 2020. (Cole Burston / Bloomberg)

TOKYO / TEHRAN / DBUAI / BANGKOK / SEOUL / SINGAPORE / PYONGYANG / YEREVAN / DHAKA / JAKARTA / KABUL / HANOI - Malaysia’s religious authorities have decided that the COVID-19 vaccine is allowed and is mandatory for some groups.

This view has been relayed to the Council of Rulers, Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said in a statement on Wednesday, amid concern among local Muslims that the shots could contain substances forbidden by Islam.

The use of vaccines to protect Muslims from fatal diseases was not unusual in Islamic law, the minister said. He cited six instances between 1988 and 2013 when they were given to prevent infections from Hepatitis B to Meningitis Menveo.

The Special Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Malaysian Islamic Affairs, which met on Dec 3, is of the opinion that the COVID-19 vaccine must be given to groups identified by the government, Zulkifli said.

Malaysia is struggling to stem a fresh wave of cases that emerged in September. Daily cases hit a record 2,234 on Dec 10, with the outbreak spreading to facilities of companies including Top Glove Corp and Karex Bhd, the world’s biggest maker of condoms. The nation added 1,348 new infections on Wednesday.

Afghanistan

The death toll of COVID-19 in Afghanistan has increased to 2,126 after 21 patients lost their lives within the past 24 hours, the country's Ministry of Public Health reported on Wednesday.

A total of 271 new COVID-19 cases were recorded during the period, bringing the number of infected people across the country to 51,360, including 9,200 active cases, the ministry said in a statement.

Australia

The cluster of COVID-19 infections in Sydney’s Northern Beaches has grown to 97, and a lockdown will be extended over Christmas to prevent the virus from spreading across the city, authorities said Wednesday.

The area’s 250,000 residents won’t be allowed to leave the Northern Beaches but will be permitted to have 5 or 10 guests in their homes over three days starting Thursday, depending on whether they live in the worst-affected communities, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.

Limits on guests in homes have been slightly softened in the rest of the city, with children aged under 12 not counted among the cap of 10 adults.

Armenia

Armenia on Wednesday reported 838 new COVID-19 cases, taking its total to 155,440, according to the country's National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

Data from the NCDC showed that 1,052 more patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 135,638.

Meanwhile, 18 people died in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 2,691.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh reported 1,367 new COVID-19 cases and 30 new deaths on Wednesday, making the tally at 504,868 and death toll at 7,359, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The official data showed that 15,932 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

The total number of recovered patients in the country stood at 444,345, including 2,416 new recoveries on Wednesday, said the DGHS.

Bhutan 

The government of Bhutan has imposed a nation wide lockdown starting Wednesday, amid rising cases of community transmission of COVID-19.

Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering announced the decision through a televised speech to the public on Tuesday night. The lockdown will last for seven days to begin with, said the prime minister.

The lockdown came three days after a lockdown was imposed in Thimphu city following a local transmission detected in a 25-year-old woman.

DPRK

All sectors and units are waging an intensive drive to firmly consolidate the anti-epidemic walls in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Wednesday.

The report said the central anti-epidemic sector is paying primary attention to making sure that "all citizens maintain the highest vigilance and unity of action to cope with the global health crisis."

Hygienic, anti-epidemic and epizootic prevention organs at all levels also tighten their surveillance over seasonal birds and inspection of their habitats so as to thoroughly check the inroads of COVID-19, the report noted.

KCNA said public health organs urge the medical workers in charge of households to enhance their responsibilities in regular medical checkups for the elderly, children and patients with chronic diseases, find in time residents with fever and respiratory diseases and take immediate steps for curing them after pinpointing their causes.

Education institutions and scientific research institutes are putting efforts on the study and introduction of effective disinfectants and sterilization methods indispensable for cementing the anti-epidemic walls, it added.

The DPRK has not officially reported a single COVID-19 case so far.

India

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,099,066 on Wednesday as 23,950 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the health ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 146,444 as 333 COVID-19 patients died since Tuesday morning.

The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in India Wednesday increased to 95.68 percent, the country's federal health ministry said.

"Till now 9,663,382 patients have been cured and 289,240 patients are under active medical supervision," the ministry said.

According to the federal health ministry, the constant increase in recoveries has ensured the reduction in actual caseload and currently, the total positive cases in the country are 2.86 percent.

During the last 24 hours, 23,950 fresh positive cases were reported in the country.

Indonesia

Six more overseas Indonesians have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of overseas Indonesian citizens contracting the virus to 2,351, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

The ministry also reported that three more Indonesians have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease, bringing the total recovered patients overseas to 1,619.

Iran

Iran started registration of volunteers for the first phase of human trial of its COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran's health authorities announced on Wednesday 6,261 new COVID-19 infections, raising the overall count in the country to 1,177,004 cases, official news agency IRNA reported.

Of the newly infected in the past 24 hours, 1,075 had to be hospitalized, the spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education Sima Sadat Lari said at her daily briefing.

She said 153 deaths with the coronavirus were registered between Tuesday and Wednesday, taking the death toll in Iran to 54,156.

Iraq

Iraq on Tuesday took several restrictive measures, including a travel ban on eight countries where the new strain of coronavirus has been found.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in a statement that the Council of Ministers decided to take the new measures to protect the Iraqis from the new strain of coronavirus, including banning travels to Britain, South Africa, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iran, Japan and any other country that the Iraqi Ministry of Health would recommend.

The council banned the entry of foreign travelers to Iraq, except for Iraqi citizens, who must be quarantined for 14 days until they undergo PCR tests to prove that they are not infected with the virus, the statement added.

It also decided to close all ground border crossings, except for emergencies, without giving further details about the duration of the closure. In addition, malls, restaurants and other public facilities will be closed for two weeks starting from Dec. 24.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 1,158 new COVID-19 cases and 15 more deaths, bringing its total infections to 586,503 and the death toll to 12,725. The tally of recoveries in Iraq rose by 1,707 to 524,344.

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Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 3,428 new coronavirus cases and 14 new fatalities, bringing the total infections to 380,285 and the death toll to 3,123. The number of patients in serious condition in Israel rose from 470 to 483, out of 853 hospitalized patients.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said that due to the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, Israel is set to impose a third nationwide lockdown.

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk at Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, Dec 22, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

Japan

Japan will ban the entry of non-Japanese people from the United Kingdom from Thursday following the emergence of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday.

Countries across the globe shut their borders to Britain on Monday due to fears about the new strain.

People including long-term foreign residents can still make business trips to Britain but Japan will ask them to self-quarantine for 14 days upon return, NHK said.

From next week, people coming from Britain would be asked to submit a certificate to confirm they had tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their departure.

Jordan

Jordan confirmed 2,444 new coronavirus infections and 23 more fatalities from the virus, taking its total COVID-19 cases to 279,892 and its death toll to 3,627. Its total recoveries rose by 3,088 to 249,256.

Kuwait

Kuwait will launch the COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Thursday, with the elderly and first frontline workers receiving the jab, Kuwait's Minister of Health Bassel Al-Sabah said Wednesday.

During an inspection of the vaccination center in Hawalli Governorate, the minister said that the vaccine would arrive on a monthly base in Kuwait for a period of a year, affirming that the ministry was keen on delivering the vaccine to people nationwide.

Kyrgyzstan 

Kyrgyzstan reported on Wednesday 230 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections in the country to 79,659.

The Republican Headquarters for Combating COVID-19 said that the total number of people having recovered from the virus reached 73,561 after 261 new recoveries were recorded over the past day.

Meanwhile, two new virus related deaths were reported, taking the nationwide count to 1,337.

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 1,348 new COVID-19 infections, the health ministry said on Wednesday, bringing the national total to 98,737.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press briefing that 16 of the new cases are imported and 1,332 are local transmissions.

Five new deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 444.

Malaysia is in talks to buy 6.4 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine and wants to increase its purchases from US drugmaker Pfizer-BioNTech, as the country looks to beef up its arsenal against the pandemic.

The Southeast Asian nation is spending about US$500 million to buy enough vaccines to inoculate 26.5 million people, or 82.8 percent of its people.

It has already bought vaccines from Pfizer and Britain’s AstraZeneca and expects to secure more from Chinese and Russian manufacturers, as well as from its participation in the global COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mongolia

Mongolia reported 57 more COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours after 4,134 tests had been conducted across the country, the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said on Wednesday.

Fifty-five of the new cases were locally transmitted or patients being hospitalized at the capital city Ulan Bator's Bayanzurkh District General Hospital, their family members and health workers of the hospital, Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's Surveillance Department, said at a press conference.

Nepal 

Nepal on Tuesday confirmed 722 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national total to 255,236, said the health ministry.

Meanwhile, three more deaths from the virus were reported, raising the national death toll to 1,798.

New Zealand

New Zealand on Wednesday reported seven cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation since the last media statement on Monday. There are no new cases in the community.

Seventeen previously reported cases have now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 49, and the total number of confirmed cases is 1,772, it said. 

Oman

In Oman, Health Minister Ahmed Al Saidi announced on Tuesday that four suspected cases of the new mutated strain of COVID-19 coming from Britian have been found in Oman.

The Omani health ministry earlier announced that the confirmed cases in the Sultanate reached 127,667, while the total fatalities stood at 1,488.

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Qatar

Qatari Health Ministry announced 149 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 142,308, including 243 deaths and 140,129 recoveries.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia reported 181 new COVID-19 cases and eight more deaths, raising its tally of infections to 361,359 and its death toll to 6,139. The total number of recoveries in the kingdom rose by 160 to 352,249.

Visitors walk through a terminal of the Changi International Airport in Singapore on Dec 7, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Singapore 

Singapore Airlines Ltd has started trials on a new digital verification process that offers customers the ability to store and present information related to their coronavirus tests or vaccination status.

The verification process will be the first in the world to be based on the International Air Transport Association’s Travel Pass framework.

Singapore may provide more details on its vaccination program as early as January, the Straits Times reported, citing Education Minister Lawrence Wong.

Wong, who co-chairs the nation’s task force on COVID-19, said that exact details will depend on variables including vaccines’ supply, delivery schedule and authorization for use, according to the newspaper’s report citing his comments made Tuesday to reporters.

Women wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk near the display of South Korea's capital Seoul logo in Seoul, South Korea, Dec 23, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

South Korea

South Korea's health authorities said on Wednesday that the country will suspend flights from Britain till the end of this year in order to contain the spread of a new COVID-19 variant found in the European country.

Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official at the health ministry, told a press briefing that all flights coming from Britain will be halted from Wednesday through Dec 31 in order to prevent import of the new COVID-19 strain discovered in Britain.

Flights from South Korea's western port city of Incheon to London will be maintained as usual.

Under the new measures, all arrivals from Britain will be put under a 14-day quarantine, and required to take an additional virus test when the quarantine is lifted.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in faced growing public pressure on Wednesday over his COVID-19 vaccine procurement plans as the country struggled to contain a third wave of the pandemic, reporting its second-highest daily tally of cases.

Domestic media has lambasted the government’s approach to securing newly developed COVID-19 vaccines as too relaxed and overly reliant on locally produced shots which will take more time than overseas options.

South Korea reported 1,092 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 52,550.

Thailand

Thailand reported 46 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, down 89 percent from Tuesday’s tally, as it omitted new infections among migrant workers who comprised the majority of cases in an outbreak reported earlier this week.

“We’re not going to report the number of cases found during proactive search operations among the migrant workers,” Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, COVID-19 center spokesman, said on Wednesday, while not disclosing a reason for the omission. “It stands at zero for now, as we have many reasons we must discuss further.”

Virus-free until as recently as September, about a fifth of Thailand’s total cases came in the past week, with a record 548 reported on Sunday, 382 on Monday and 427 on Tuesday after a cluster of infections was discovered last weekend in the coastal province of Samut Sakhon. That took Thailand’s reported infections since January to 5,762, Taweesilp said.

About 90 percent of the infections reported over the weekend were found among migrant workers from Myanmar, the Health Ministry said earlier this week.

The Philippines

The Philippine government said on Wednesday that it would suspend all flights from Britain after the emergence of a new and fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus detected there.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved on Tuesday night the temporary suspension of all flights from Britain starting 12:01 a.m. Dec. 24, 2020 until Dec. 31, 2020, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines on Wednesday reported 1,196 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection, bringing the total number in the country to 464,004.

The Philippines has tested over 6.14 million people so far since the disease emerged in January. The Southeast Asian country has a population of about 110 million. 

The UAE

The United Arab Emirates approved the shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, and Dubai is starting a free vaccination campaign. 

The emergency registration in the UAE was in response to a request from Pfizer, state-run WAM reported. Two weeks ago, the country approved the shot developed by Sinopharm unit China National Biotec Group.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported 1,226 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 195,878 and the death toll to 642. The tally of recoveries in the UAE rose by 1,611 to 171,451.

Turkey

Turkey reported 19,256 new COVID-19 cases and 251 more deaths from the virus, raising its total infections to 2,062,960 and its death toll 18,602. Its total recoveries climbed by 32,110 to 1,866,815.

Uzbekistan 

Uzbekistan has placed an order for 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX initiative led by the World Health Organization, an Uzbek health official said Tuesday.

"Uzbekistan has become a member of COVAX, and our application for 2 million doses was approved," Deputy Head of the Sanitary-Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health Service Nurmat Atabekov told Uzbek state TV.

Yemen

Yemen's government on Tuesday tightened up measures to confront the second wave of COVID-19, including conducting medical checks on all arriving passengers to the war-ravaged Arab country.

The Supreme Emergency Committee tasked with fighting coronavirus also announced that all arriving passengers must provide negative COVID-19 test results 72 hours before arrival. The committee directed the Yemeni authorities to begin imposing the procedures as of Friday.

Vietnam

Vietnam reported a new case of COVID-19 infection on Wednesday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 1,421 with 35 deaths from the disease so far, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

The new case is a Vietnamese citizen who recently entered the country from abroad and was quarantined upon arrival, said the ministry.