A woman wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus, sits on bench while maintaining social distancing in Seoul, South Korea, Sept 8, 2020. (LEE JIN-MAN / AP)

SEOUL / DUBAI / SYDENY / BAGHDAD / MUMBAI / KUALA LUMPUR / JERUSALEM / SINGAPORE - South Korea’s latest COVID-19 outbreak has triggered a public backlash against conservative Christian churches for defying government orders aimed at preventing the disease’s spread.

At least a third of the 4,500 COVID-19 cases confirmed in the greater Seoul area over the past three weeks have been traced to church members and others who attended a Aug 15 anti-government rally, the country’s largest cluster in months.

Authorities said quelling the outbreak was hampered by some 650 church members and 7,700 protesters avoiding or refusing testing as of Tuesday, and more than 300 congregations breaching a ban on in-person gatherings.

Mainstream Christian figures and conservative opposition lawmakers have criticised the Sarang Jeil Church at the centre of the latest COVID-19 outbreak and other churches for spreading fake news, aggravating the COVID-19 outbreak and depleting public resources.

As the second wave of infections in mid-August emerged, conservative political parties are keeping the churches at arm’s length, wary that aligning with them is scaring away independent and centre-right voters who are key to broadening their support and helping them win the next presidential election in 2022.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 136 new cases as of midnight Monday, after the rate fell to a three-week low of 119 a day earlier. The total infections rose 21,432, with 341 deaths.

The government will consider easing social distancing measures if cases fall to a “double-digit” number by this weekend, Maeil Business Newspaper says, citing its TV unit interview with Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.

A South Korean company plans to start mass producing a coronavirus antibody treatment this month as it undergoes Phase I clinical trials in the UK, Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a briefing.

Australia

Australia’s second most populous state of Victoria on Tuesday said eight people died from the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours and reported 55 new cases.

The state is deepening its contact tracing programme to try to maintain a steady decline in daily new cases, amid criticism of its handling of the crisis.

Victoria, which has become the COVID-19 hotspot of the country, a day earlier reported nine deaths from the virus and 41 cases, its lowest one-day rise in more than 10 weeks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for the government of Victoria state to fast-track its plan to ease coronavirus restrictions.

The southeastern state, which extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne until Sept 28, now accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s 26,377 cases and 90 percent of its 770 deaths.

People take pictures with their mobile phones near the Taj Mahal in Agra on September 8, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

India

India recorded its highest daily deaths from the coronavirus in more than a month on Tuesday, even as new infections slowed, data from the health ministry showed.

The health ministry said 1,133 people had died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest since July, taking total mortalities to 72,775. But new daily cases were at 75,809, the lowest in a week.

India surprassed Brazil on Monday to become the country with the most number of coronavirus cases outside of the United States and has a cumulative caseload of 4.28 million.

Iran

The total number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Iran reached 391,112 on Tuesday, after an overnight registration of 2,302 new infections, official news agency IRNA reported.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said at her daily briefing 132 people died in the past 24 hours of the novel coronavirus, taking the total death toll to 22,542 in the country.

Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo formed a national team to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccine in a rule signed on Sept 3, according to the Cabinet Secretariat.

The team will be managed by the research and technology minister and will report directly to the president.

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 3,046 within one day to 200,035, with the death toll adding by 100 to 8,230, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

According to the ministry, 2,306 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 142,958.

Iraq

Iraq is reopening its land border crossings, restaurants, hotels, and bringing back sporting events without spectators, the prime minister said on Monday, three days after it recorded its highest daily increase in coronavirus infections.

Land crossings would be open for trade only so as to secure local market needs, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in a statement. Restaurants and five-star hotels must adhere to public health guidelines, he added.

Sporting events would resume as of Sept 12. Government agencies can now bring back to work up to 50% of their employees, he said.

In Iraq, 4,314 new COVID-19 cases were detected during the past 24 hours, bringing the total nationwide infections to 264,684. The death toll from the coronavirus in Iraq rose to 7,589 after 77 fatalities were added.

Israel

Israel announced on Tuesday a partial lockdown on dozens of cities and communities to battle a surge in coronavirus infections. 

The new restrictions, which have been approved by a special ministerial committee, will be imposed on 40 cities and neighborhoods across Israel, according to a joint statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office and the Health Ministry.

The seven-day lockdown will start on Tuesday evening, including a curfew from 7 pm to 5 am and closure of all schools and kindergartens.

The communities involved are the mostly Arab and ultra-Orthodox ones hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, including nine large Jewish and Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem, the settlements of Beitar Illit and Emanuel, and the Arab cities of Umm al-Fahm and Nazareth in northern Israel.

The cities involved were announced "red" as part of a government's "traffic light" policy that has classified areas to red, green and orange according to morbidity level.

3,331 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, the highest daily rise since the outbreak of the pandemic in Israel, taking the tally of coronavirus infections to 133,975.

The death toll of the virus in Israel increased to 1,026 while the recoveries rose to 105,455.

Police patrol a street in Melbourne on September 6, 2020 as the state announced an extension to its strict lockdown law while it battles fresh outbreaks of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

Japan

The Japanese government approved on Tuesday spending of 671.4 billion yen (US$6.32 billion) from emergency budget reserves to secure coronavirus vaccines, the Ministry of Finance said.

The government has said it hoped to secure enough vaccines for every citizen by the middle of next year, and provide them for free.

The Japanese government is considering eliminating the cap of 5,000 people it has on event sizes as soon as Sept 19 after determining that the coronavirus outbreak is easing, Kyodo reported, citing an unidentified official.

The government will continue to seek that capacity be limited at 50%, Kyodo reported, saying a final decision will be made at a meeting on Sept. 11. The restrictions were set to be in place through the end of September.

Jordan

In Jordan, 67 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths were recorded, increasing the tally of cases to 2,478 and the death toll to 18. 

Kuwait

Kuwait reported 805 new cases, bringing the country's total number of infections to 90,387, of whom 546 have died and 81,037 recovered.

Kazakhstan

Local authorities in Kazakhstan's Baikonur city, where the Baikonur cosmodrome is located, announced Tuesday an extention of the city's COVID-19 quarantine measures till Sept 20.

According to a statement from the city's authorities, large-scale public and family gatherings are banned, while the use of dance floors has been prohibited. Entry of citizens invited by locals into the city has also been banned.

An Iraqi boy, wearing a protective mask, beats himself with chains during a procession in Baghdad's northern district of Kadhimiya on August 25, 2020, ahead of the tenth of Muharram which marks the day of Ashura. (PHOTO / AFP)

Lebanon

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 400 cases to 20,826, while death toll went up by nine to 200.

Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli has been witnessing a remarkable increase in COVID-19 infections, prompting caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan to visit the city on Monday and check the needs of hospitals there to curb the spread of the virus.

Malaysia

Malaysian authorities on Tuesday reminded the public to avoid physical contact, including fist bumps as a form of greeting, as the number of new coronavirus cases in the country climbed to a three-month high.

The fist bump, where two people briefly press their closed fists together, has replaced the traditional handshake in popularity as people around the world sought to limit the spread of the pandemic.

But Malaysia’s top health official said any form of physical contact presents the risk of infection and reminded people to maintain a distance of at least one metre.

The Southeast Asian country recorded a three-digit rise in new infections for the first time since early June, with 100 cases reported on Tuesday.

Malaysia has so far avoided the level of outbreaks seen in neighbors the Philippines and Indonesia, which have 241,987 and 200,035 cases respectively. Indonesia’s death toll of 8,230 is the region’s highest.

Malaysia has reported a total of 9,559 infections, including 128 deaths.

New Zealand

New Zealand confirmed six new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, including two imported cases detected in managed isolation facilities and four community cases.

The country's total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is now 1,431, which is the number reported to the World Health Organization.

Oman

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 256 new cases of infections, raising the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 87,328, including 734 deaths and 82,805 recoveries.

Palestine

Palestine reported 789 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally of infections in the Palestinian territories to 34,801, including 23,508 recoveries and 206 deaths.

Qatar

In Qatar, 253 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected, increasing the total number to 120,348, including 205 deaths and 117,241 recoveries.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia announced 768 new cases and 26 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 321,456 and the death toll to 4,107.

The kingdom also reported 886 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 297,623.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 47 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 57,091.

Of the new cases, one is an imported case, and the rest are linked with the dormitories of foreign workers.

On Tuesday, 53 more patients of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities after recovery. In all, 56,461 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, the ministry said.

Thailand

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on Monday told reporters that the launch of the so-called "Phuket model" scheduled for next month to welcome back foreign visitors, has a high chance of being pushed back.

The remark came after Thailand witnessed the first COVID-19 case after making the 100 day record of free local transmission.

"We simply cannot afford a second wave of infections," said TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn," we have come this far in our efforts to stem the virus from spreading."

The Philippines

The number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines surged to 241,987 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,281 new daily cases on Tuesday.

The DOH said that the number of recoveries also rose to 185,178 after it reported 286 more patients have survived the disease.

The DOH added that 26 more patients have died from the viral disease, bringing the death toll to 3,916.

The UAE

The United Arab Emirates announced 470 new cases, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 74,454.

Turkey

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey climbed by 1,703 to 281,509, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 6,730 after 57 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, Koca said, adding that the total recoveries increased to 252,152.

Turkey's capital Ankara leads the daily COVID-19 cases across the country, said the minister.

Vietnam

Vietnam reported five new cases of COVID-19 infection on Tuesday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 1,054, with 35 deaths from the disease so far, according to its Ministry of Health.

The five new cases have recently entered Vietnam from abroad and were quarantined upon arrival, said the ministry, noting that their ages range from 2 to 51.