A medical worker prepares to inoculate a police personnel with a COVID-19 vaccine at the Police headquarters in Srinagar on Feb 4, 2021. (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)

SYDNEY / PHNOM PENH / NEW DELHI / TEHRAN / BAGHDAD / JERUSALEM / AMMAN / BEIRUT / ULAN BATOR / YANGON / WELLINGTON / MUSCAT / RAMALLAH / DOHA / SEOUL / BANGKOK / ANKARA / HANOI - Nearly a quarter of India’s 1.3 billion people have had COVID-19, according to the latest sero-prevalence study, indicating a large proportion remain vulnerable to the virus.

The survey conducted by the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research found 21.5 percent of the samples of 28,589 people from the general population and 7,171 healthcare workers taken between Dec. 17 to Jan. 8 had coronavirus antibodies. That means as many as 280 million people have been infected.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,790,183 on Thursday, as 12,899 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the health ministry.

According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 154,703 as 107 COVID-19 patients died since Wednesday morning.

There are still 155,025 active cases in the country, while 10,480,455 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.

So far nearly 4.5 million people, mainly health workers, have been vaccinated across the country since the nationwide vaccination drive was kicked off on Jan 16.

ROK

ROK Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday ordered a revamp of social distancing guidelines in a bid to win greater public support for efforts to stop local transmission of the new coronavirus.

The country’s five-tier social distancing system has faced a public backlash for imposing unfair restrictions and curfews on specific businesses, including a ban on indoor restaurant dining after 9 pm.

“Rather than introduce the guidelines unilaterally, we should make the virus prevention rules along with the public,” Chung told an intra-agency meeting on Thursday.

Separately, health authorities warned on Thursday that a large fourth wave of infections caused by the more transmissible British and South African coronavirus variants cannot be ruled out. There have been 39 confirmed cases of those variants.

The country reported 451 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 79,762.

The daily caseload stayed above 400 for two straight days, but it showed signs of moderating this year after peaking at 1,240 on Dec. 25, 2020.

Seven more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,448. The total fatality rate stood at 1.82 percent.

Afghanistan 

Afghanistan on Thursday reported 34 new COVID-19 cases after the health authorities conducted 1,895 tests within a day, bringing the number of the total cases to 55,265, the country's Ministry of Public Health said.

Thirteen people recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the overall number of recoveries to 47,995, according to a ministry's statement.

Australia

Australia's borders could be opened sooner than expected if COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevent transmission, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

Australia will buy 10 million additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by US drugmaker Pfizer Inc and Germany’s BioNTech, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.

Australia last week approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use for people aged 16 years and older, and expects to begin inoculation at 80,000 doses per week by the end of February.

Australia’s second-most populous city reintroduced coronavirus restrictions from Thursday after an Australian Open hotel quarantine worker tested positive to COVID-19, sending more than 500 tennis players and officials into isolation.

Melbourne returned to mandatory masks indoors and a cap on gatherings to 15 people after the state’s run of 28 days of zero local infections came to an end.

In a pleasing sign the outbreak will likely be contained as an initial round of tests carried after the Grand Hyatt worker contracted the coronavirus came back negative, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters.

The positive case was announced in a surprise late night press conference on Wednesday but will be reflected in Thursday’s tally.

The Grand Hyatt was one of three main quarantine hotels used by players and officials arriving in Melbourne for the Australian Open.

About 1,200 players, coaching staff and officials arrived in Australia at the middle of last month and went into a mandatory 14-day isolation. Most players were released from quarantine about two weeks ago.

In a press conference on Thursday, Andrews said the Australian Open was likely to go ahead though he added “there were no guarantees”.

Play at the six warm-up events for the Grand Slam at Melbourne Park, due to start February 8, was heavily disrupted with organisers Tennis Australia cancelling all matches for Thursday.

A woman walks along a snow-covered street in central Seoul on Feb 4, 2021. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)

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Bangladesh 

Bangladesh reported 485 new COVID-19 cases and 13 new deaths on Thursday, making the tally at 537,030 and death toll at 8,175, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The official data showed that 15,273 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

The total number of recovered patients in the country stood at 481,917 including 611 new recoveries on Thursday, said the DGHS. 

Workers walk at Melbourne Park in Melbourne on Feb 4, 2021, as preparations for the Australian Open were thrown into chaos when up to 600 players and officials were told to isolate and get tested after a hotel staff member tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Cambodia

Cambodia has officially approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in the Southeast Asian country, according to a Ministry of Health statement on Thursday.

"The Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia authorized the emergency use of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine that has been developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd of the People's Republic of China," Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in the statement.

A Cambodian man tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival to the country from Kuwait, the Cambodian Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement on Thursday.

The 23-year-old man landed in the capital Phnom Penh on Monday from Kuwait via a connecting flight in South Korea, the statement said.

DPRK

The DPRK expects to receive nearly two million doses of AstraZeneca COViD-19 shot from Covax, a global program that seeks to provide equitable access to vaccines, Yonhap News reported, citing an interim report from the initiative.

The doses will be produced by the Serum Institute of India and be distributed in the first half of the year.

Iran

Iran received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday with the arrival of a flight carrying Sputnik V jabs from Russia, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

The 500,000 doses are the first of three shipments from Russia, Fars said, adding that the vaccines were being transferred to the Health Ministry.

Iran has the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, with some 1.4 million people infected and more than 58,000 dead so far.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned the import of British and U.S.-made vaccines, although the health minister this week announced the import of 4.2 million AstraZeneca doses through the World Health Organization’s COVAX facility.

Iran will start receiving AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses in February through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) platform, Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki announced on Wednesday.

"AstraZeneca informed us the night before last that it will start delivering 4.2 million doses in February within the framework of COVAX," Namaki said in a video announcement broadcasted by official news agency IRNA.

Namaki also said that Iran's Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute has been authorized to start clinical trials of its vaccine candidate, and they will hopefully start the trials next week.

Iran reported 7,040 cases and 67 deaths overnight, marking the lowest number of new daily fatalities since June 5. The country has recorded 1,445,326 infections and 58,256 deaths so far. The country is set to receive its first vaccine shipment of 500,000 Sputnik V doses from Russia on Thursday.

Iraq

Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi warned on Wednesday that the health authorities might reimpose health restrictions, including a nationwide curfew, if coronavirus infections continue to increase, while the ministry reported 1,317 new COVID-19 cases.

"We warn against an increase in infections and deaths due to failure to adhere to health-protective measures. There is a possibility to reimpose curfew if the number of infections continues to increase," al-Tamimi said in a press conference.

Later in the day, a statement by the Ministry of Health reported 1,317 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total nationwide number of cases to 623,072.

A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine upon a Palestinian man at Clalit Health Services, in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Beit Hanina, in east Jerusalem on Feb 3, 2021. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he was postponing a trip planned next week to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain due to Israel’s COVID-19 lockdown.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu greatly appreciates the invitations of the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayd and the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the historic peace that has been established between our countries,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

So far, more than 3.23 million people have been vaccinated in Israel, or 34.7 percent of the country's population.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 7,860 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the tally in the country to 667,216.

The death toll from the COVID-19 reached 4,928 after 42 new fatalities were added.

Japan
Japan could start vaccinating medical personnel as soon as Feb 17, FNN reported, citing unidentified government officials. The health ministry is expected to approve the use of Pfizer vaccines scheduled to arrive in the country around Feb 14.

A Tokyo Metropolitan Government panel of COVID-19 experts Thursday warned of the increasing number of infections among the elderly while pointing out the importance of thorough implementation of anti-virus measures.

Jordan

Jordan on Wednesday reported 1,280 new COVID-19 cases, increasing the tally in the country to 330,474, said a joint statement issued by the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.

It also recorded 10 deaths from the virus, increasing the death toll to 4,344. There are currently 8,912 active COVID-19 cases in Jordan.

Kuwait

Kuwait plans to bar foreigners from entering for two weeks.

Lebanon

Lebanon registered on Wednesday the highest daily increase in the number of deaths from COVID-19 by 89 to 3,315, the Health Ministry reported.

Meanwhile, the number of infections increased by 3,320 to 309,162.

Malaysia 

Malaysia on Thursday reported 4,571 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 231,483.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that three of the new cases are imported and 4,568 are local transmissions.

An additional 17 deaths were reported, raising the COVID-19 death toll to 826.

Mongolia

Mongolia will launch a door-to-door COVID-19 testing campaign here on Feb. 11, when a 24-hour, two-week-length lockdown comes into effect in the capital, the State Emergency Commission (SEC) said Thursday.

A total of 31 more locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported in Mongolia in the last 24 hours, raising its national tally to 1,890, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Thursday.

"We conducted 16,960 tests for COVID-19 yesterday, and 31 of them were positive," Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's surveillance department, said at a press conference.

The latest cases were detected in the country's capital Ulan Bator, which is hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, said Ambaselmaa.

Myanmar

Myanmar reported 263 more COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the tally in the country to 140,927, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports.

A total of 14 more COVID-19 deaths were reported on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 3,160 in total, the release said.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported seven cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, including six cases in managed isolation and one community case.

The community case is a close contact of the January Auckland cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

The six border cases came from Britain, India, the Czech Republic and Poland, said a ministry statement.

Oman

Oman's health ministry will launch on Sunday a campaign targeting a new segment of society as part of its COVID-19 vaccination drive, the official Oman News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The campaign targets people aged above 65 in all governorates of the sultanate, the ONA quoted a health ministry statement as saying.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country reached 134,685, while the fatalities hit 1,532.

Palestine

The Palestinian Health Ministry on Wednesday continued to vaccinate its medical staff in the forefront of fighting against COVID-19.

In Nablus city in the northern West Bank, dozens of medical staff received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine in the presence of Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila. Meanwhile, in the city of Bethlehem, Palestinian health workers also got vaccinated.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian health minister began the vaccination program in the occupied West Bank when she received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine at the Hugo Chaves Hospital in the town of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, as the medical staff working in the intensive care units there also got vaccinated.

On Wednesday, al-Kaila said her ministry has received 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, adding that the priority is for health sector crews because they are in close contact with coronavirus patients, and at the highest risk of getting infected with the disease.

Qatar

The Qatari health ministry on Wednesday announced 396 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 152,491, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

Saudi Arabia

All gatherings including celebrations such as weddings, company meetings at private or hotel halls as well as rest centers and camps will be halted for 30 days starting Thursday evening, state-run SPA reported, citing a statement from the interior ministry.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 22 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 59,624.

All Of the new cases are imported.

On Thursday, 28 patients have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, taking the recoveries to 59,348, the ministry said.

There are currently 38 infections still in hospitals. Of these, most are stable or improving, and none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) has sent a purchase order for 18 million doses of the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine against the COVID-19 virus from India as part of the government's aim to vaccinate its citizens as soon as possible, local media reported here Thursday.

State Minister of Pharmaceutical Production, Supply and Regulation Channa Jayasumana said the purchase order was sent by the SPC and once received, these vaccines are expected to immunise persons between aged 30 and 60 alongside the vaccination of persons over the age of 60.

Thailand

Thailand reported 809 new coronavirus cases on Thursday and no additional deaths, its COVID-19 taskforce said.

The new infections took the overall total to 22,058, with fatalities remaining at 79.

The UAE

The surge in infections is most acute in the United Arab Emirates, where it’s already forced Dubai to reintroduce curbs on hotels and air travel.

The UAE has one of the highest rates of vaccinations per 100 people and has administered almost 3.7 million shots in a population of about 10 million. Saudi Arabia trails with 1.29 doses per 100 people.

Turkey

Turkey sees a significant increase in the number of cases reported with the new strain of the COVID-19, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday.

The minister announced last week that 128 Turkish citizens were infected with the variant of the novel coronavirus across 17 cities of the country.

Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 8,102 new COVID-19 cases, including 632 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 2,501,079, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 117 to 26,354.

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Vietnam

Vietnam recorded nine new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Thursday, according to its Ministry of Health.

The new infections brought the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 1,957 with 35 deaths.