A man with a protective mask crosses a pedestrian walkway on April 10, 2020, in Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO/AP)

TOKYO / SEOUL / DUBAI / JAKARTA — Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike unveiled a list of businesses that will be asked to close from Saturday, in a bid to control the accelerating spread of the coronavirus under new emergency measures.

Pachinko parlors, game centers and internet cafes in the Japanese capital will be asked to close, but “izakaya” pubs providing food and drink will be able to operate, albeit only until 8 pm, Koike said Friday. Confirmed cases in the capital tripled in 10 days to top 1,500, raising worries Tokyo could be the next global center to see an overwhelming surge in cases.

The measures, which carry no penalties for noncompliance, represent a partial victory for Koike over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, which had sought to put off any closure requests for two weeks.

“There’s no way we could wait,” Koike told reporters in Tokyo. “This is a matter that affects the lives of Tokyo residents, and I am getting reports every day of the strains on the health care system.”

Firms will be eligible for 500,000 yen (US$4,600) in compensation for closing a business and 1 million yen for multiple businesses. Koike said children’s daycare centers will remain open, as will supermarkets and convenience stores, and there are no restrictions on shopping for essentials and medicine. Public transit will continue to operate as normal.

Meanwhile, the governor of Kyoto prefecture and the mayor of the ancient capital also asked to be included in the national emergency, and urged tourists to stay away from the city’s famous palaces, temples and gardens.

“I call on all people who love Kyoto and tourists from all over the world - until this situation is ended, to protect yourself and your families, please refrain from visiting Kyoto,” Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa told a news conference.

The number of cases in Japan rose to 5,548 on Thursday, with 108 deaths, NHK said. Tokyo accounted for 1,519 cases, heightening concerns about sluggish action.

In this photo taken on March 12, 2020, medical workers wearing protective clothing against the novel coronavirus walk to a decontamination area at the Keimyung University hospital in Daegu. (PHOTO / AFP)

South Korea

The South Korean city of Daegu, which endured the first large coronavirus outbreak outside of China, on Friday reported zero new cases for the first time since late February, as new infections across the country dropped to record lows.

With at least 6,807 confirmed cases, Daegu accounts for more than half of all South Korea’s 10,450 infections.

South Korea on Friday reported 27 new cases as of the night before, a new low since daily cases peaked at more than 900 in late February, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The death toll also rose by four to 208, the KCDC said.

A total of 91 South Koreans had retested positive for the COVID-19 after being released from quarantine with full recovery, the country's health authorities said Friday.

The spread of infections at a church in Daegu drove a massive spike in cases in South Korea beginning in late February.

The outbreak initially pushed the tally of confirmed cases much higher than anywhere else outside of China, before the country used widespread testing and social distancing measures to bring the numbers down.

Early voting in South Korea’s parliamentary election kicked off on Friday, with coronavirus patients casting ballots at designated stations and candidates adopting new ways of campaigning to limit the risk of contagion.

The National Election Commission (NEC) set up eight polling stations to be used by more than 3,000 coronavirus patients receiving treatment as well as 900 medical staff at treatment centers in hard-hit areas, including the capital Seoul and Daegu city.

A man wearing a face mask walks with his umbrella in Roppongi district of Tokyo on April 9, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Australia 

Australia will deploy helicopters, set up police checkpoints and hand out hefty fines to deter people from breaking an Easter travel ban, officials warned on Friday, in their toughest crackdown against the coronavirus, even as its spread slows.

ALSO READ: Virus: Japan infections top 5,000 despite state of emergency

More than half of Australians identify themselves as Christians, with many in past years attending church services or going on trips to visit family and friends during Easter public holidays that run until Monday.

But with places of worship closed, bans on public gatherings larger than two and non-essential travel limited to combat the spread of the virus, Australians were told to stay home this year or face dire consequences.

Police have said they will block roads and use number plate recognition technology to catch those infringing the bans. Fines for breaking social distancing rules start at A$1,000 (US$620), but vary between states.

The long weekend was in many ways “the most important weekend we may face in the whole course of the virus,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Thursday.

Australia had 6,152 infections by Friday, up 100 from the previous day, government figures showed, with 53 virus-related deaths.

The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday announced 331 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 2,990.

As many as 29 more patients have made full recovery from the virus, taking the tally of the UAE's recoveries to 268, according to the ministry.

The ministry also confirmed two more death, pushing the country's death toll to 14.

The UAE was the first among the Gulf countries to report COVID-19 cases.

Iran

Iran announced 117 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the total fatalities to 4,110, while the total number of confirmed cases surged to 66,220, up by 1,634 from a day ago.

The increase in the new cases of infections in Iran, the worst-hit country in the Middle East, has been declining for the ninth day in a row since March 31.

Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to process Iran's request for an emergency anti-coronavirus loan.

"We expect the IMF to immediately respond to the request of Iran which itself is a founding member of the Fund," the CBI chief wrote on his Instagram page. 

On March 12, the CBI asked the IMF to provide a loan of US$5 billion to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, but reports said that the United States had blocked Iran's request.

Turkey

In Turkey, the fast rise in the tally of infections continued on Thursday, as 4,056 new cases and 96 new deaths were reported.

The total confirmed cases in Turkey climbed to 42,282, while the death toll hit 908, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

Israel

Israel, another hard-hit country in the region, reported 13 new deaths from the virus and 564 infections, bringing the death toll to 86 and the tally of infections to 9,968, the Ministry of Health said.

A 5-week-old baby in Israel was diagnosed with the coronavirus, said Sheba Medical Center in central Israel. But the baby was in mild condition and treated in a special quarantined area at the intensive care unit.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia reported 355 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, bringing the total infections to 3,287 and the death toll to 44. 

Qatar

In Qatar, 166 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected Thursday, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 2,376, of whom six have died and 206 have recovered.

Bahrain  

Bahrain reported 64 new COVID-19 cases and 42 new recoveries, bringing the tally of infections to 887, and the number of recoveries to 519. Five patients have died from the virus so far.

Kuwait

Kuwait reported 55 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 910, of whom 111 have recovered.

Oman

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 38 new cases of infections, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 457. 

Iraq

Iraq reported 30 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 1,232, of whom 69 have died and 496 recovered.

Jordan 

Jordan's Health Minister Saad Jaber confirmed the 7th death from the virus, while 14 more infections were recorded, bringing the total cases to 372 in the kingdom.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 cases increased by seven to 582, while the death toll remained at 19.

Lebanon's cabinet announced the extension of lockdown measures for two more weeks until April 26 in an attempt to stem the coronavirus.

Palestine

The Palestinian Authority (PA) hailed on Thursday China's experience in combating the novel coronavirus, including isolation, social spacing, and staying at home.

"I believe that the Chinese experience was the major medical recipe," said PA spokesman Ibrahim Melhem at a news briefing. 

In a briefing via video-conference to foreign diplomats, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye called on donor countries to support Palestine's emergency response plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which requires 137 million dollars.

The Palestinian government forecast a total loss of about 3.8 billion dollars for the Palestinian economy due to the pandemic, Ishtaye said.

Uzbekistan

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has instructed the country's central bank to allocate US$3.1 billion through banks to support domestic enterprises' working capital, the president's press service said Thursday.

When quarantine is lifted, many enterprises will require considerable time and money to restore their production and in this regard, the Central Bank was instructed to ensure the allocation through banks of 30 trillion sums (US$3.1 billion), the press service said.

Banks were also recommended to fund small businesses to create jobs and to stimulate self-employment at home.

Uzbekistan now has 582 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and has effectively locked down all major cities including its capital city Tashkent.

A foreign worker talks on the phone outside his room at the WestLite Toh Guan dormitory after it was declared an isolation area under the Infectious Diseases Act, following a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in several foreign worker dormitories in Singapore, April 10, 2020. (YONG TECK LIM/AP)

Singapore

Singapore’s government placed a fifth foreign worker dormitory under isolation in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the city-state that has recorded its highest daily increase in cases this week.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong declared a foreign worker housing facility in east Singapore as an isolation area, according to a government gazette issued late Thursday. Singapore started placing some of these dorms under 14-day quarantines from Sunday as these low-wage laborers are making up a large part of new cases.

The country reported its highest daily increase of infections Thursday with more than 200 of the 287 new cases linked to foreign worker dormitories. This group, who mainly work in construction and live in often-cramped housing facilities, now make up about a quarter of Singapore’s over 1,900 cases.

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The government has said that screening measures will be applied across 43 such housing facilities in the country. Plans are under way to reduce the number of workers living in dormitories by moving them to re-purposed convention centers, hotels, military camps and vacant public housing flats.

India

India's death toll due to COVID-19 in India rose to 199 and the total number of confirmed cases has reached 6,412, according to the federal health ministry on Friday morning.

"As on 8:00 am (local time) today 199 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," reads the information released by the ministry, and the number of active cases is 5,709.

This is a jump of 30 deaths and an increase of 547 cases since Thursday.

On Thursday evening the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was 5,865 and the death toll was 169.

According to ministry officials, 504 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

Indonesia

The Health Ministry reported the biggest daily jump of 40 deaths of the virus, bringing the total to 280, and the highest new confirmed cases of 337, making the total to 3,293.

New Zealand

A second person has died of COVID-19 in New Zealand, the country's Ministry of Health said on Friday.

New Zealand reported 23 new confirmed and 21 new probable cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable infections to 1,283 in the country.

Two people have died from COVID-19 so far, and 373 people have recovered, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield from the Ministry of Health said at a press conference.

More than 46,000 tests have been carried out to date, Bloomfield said.

New Zealand entered a four-week lockdown, or epidemic response Alert Level 4, from March 25. The government wage subsidy scheme has helped more than 1 million Kiwis keep their jobs, according to the government.

Myanmar

Five more confirmed infection cases of the COVID-19 were reported in Myanmar, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 27, a release from the Health and Sports Ministry said on Friday.

So far, Myanmar has reported three deaths from the disease.  

Vietnam

Vietnam will aim to disburse US$30 billion in public investment funds this year, up 67% year-on-year, the government said on Friday, as it seeks to boost an economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak that has infected 255 people nationally.

Public investment, excluding investment made by state-owned enterprises, often accounts for around one-fifth of Vietnam’s total investment and is spent on infrastructure and social development projects.

The Southeast Asian country’s gross domestic product in the first quarter of this year grew at its slowest pace in 10 years, at 3.8 percent due to the pandemic.

East Timor

East Timor has confirmed another case of coronavirus, health authorities said on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to two.

The infected person had travelled from Indonesia’s West Timor region, Integrated Crisis Management Center spokesman, Sergio Lobo, told a news conference.

Thailand

Thailand reported 50 new coronavirus cases and the death of a 43-year-old woman on Friday.

Of the new cases, 27 are linked to previous cases and eight who are waiting for investigation into how they caught the disease, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration

Three of the new cases were imported, Wisanuyothin said.

Since the outbreak escalated in January, Thailand has reported a total of 2,473 cases and 33 fatalities, while 1,013 patients have recovered and gone home.

Cambodia

Cambodia’s parliament passed a law on Friday to prepare the way for a state of emergency, which Prime Minister Hun Sen has said he might have to declare to reinforce the campaign against the coronavirus.

Cambodia reported one new coronavirus case on Friday, taking its confirmed tally to 119, the health ministry said.

Yemen

Yemen has reported its first coronavirus case in‮ ‬Hadhramaut Governorate, supreme national emergency committee tweeted early on Friday.

The committee added that the patient was stable and receiving health care, without elaborating.

The Philippines

The Philippines has barred doctors, nurses and other health workers from leaving for overseas work as the nation seeks to stem the coronavirus outbreak, according to its immigration bureau.

The temporary halt follows an order of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration on April 2, immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval said in mobile-phone message. It will last for the duration of the nation’s state of emergency, according to the employment administration order.

The Philippines, which sends thousands of medical practitioners to work overseas, must now reinforce a healthcare system overwhelmed by the pandemic and weakened by deaths and infection of more than 200 health workers.

The Philippines’ health ministry on Friday reported 18 more coronavirus deaths and 119 new infections.

The death toll in the Southeast Asian country has reached 221, while confirmed cases totalled 4,195.

Sixteen more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 140, the ministry said in a bulletin.

Afghanistan

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health on Friday reported 37 more COVID-19 cases in 12 of the country's 34 provinces, bringing the national total to 521 cases.

"Within the past 24 hours, 37 new coronavirus cases were reported in 12 provinces, including 16 cases in Kabul province and eight cases in western Herat province," Wahidullah Mayar, spokesman of the ministry, said in a statement.

The spokesman noted that more people have been infected inside Afghanistan than those from other affected countries.