A Yemeni worker sprays disinfectant in a neighbourhood of the capital Sanaa, on May 11, 2020, during an emergency lockdown in certain areas due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)

SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / DUBAI / SEOUL / TOKYO / DUBAI - Yemen’s Saudi-backed government reported the first coronavirus case in Marib province and four other infections elsewhere, taking the tally of cases in areas under its control to 70, including 12 deaths.

The Aden-based government’s coronavirus committee said two cases including one death were reported in Aden, and two in Lahej, including one death.

Yemen is divided between the internationally recognised government based in the south and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement headquartered in the north. The Houthis ousted the government from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014.

The Houthis have so far reported only two infections, with one death, from the novel coronavirus, both in Sanaa.

The World Health Organization says it fears COVID-19 could rip through Yemen as the population has some of the lowest levels of immunity to disease compared with other countries. Minimal testing capacity has added to concerns.

Japan

People walk through a shopping area in Yokohama, near Tokyo, May 13, 2020. Japan is still under a coronavirus state of emergency, which was extended this week until the end of May, though there have been no hard lockdowns. (PHOTO . AP)

The Japanese government is considering lifting the coronavirus state of emergency in 39 of the country’s 47 prefectures, public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday. 

South Korea

South Korea health authorities said on Wednesday they had no immediate plans to reinstate strict social distancing rules despite a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the capital of Seoul.

Officials have scrambled to trace and test thousands of people over the past week after a cluster of new infections linked to nightclubs and bars in Seoul’s Itaewon district raised fears of a second wave outbreak.

Officials have linked at least 119 cases of COVID-19 to the night spots, which had just reopened as part of the country’s move to ease lockdown measures to jumpstart its struggling economy.

South Korea reported 26 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 am Wednesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,962.

One more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 259. The total fatality rate stood at 2.36 percent.

India

India’s government said on Wednesday it will offer nearly US$60 billion of loan guarantees for small businesses, shadow banks and power companies as part of measures to combat the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The credit line is a part of a 20 trillion rupee (US$266 billion) fiscal and monetary package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to support the economy, which has been battered by a weeks-long lockdown to curb the virus’ spread.

We have a responsibility toward the poor, the needy, the migrants and the disabled.

 Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Finance Minister

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters the government aims to help 4.5 million businesses by October by providing credit guarantees to help them access collateral-free loans from banks.

“We have a responsibility toward the poor, the needy, the migrants and the disabled,” Sitharaman said, in the first of several daily press conferences on the package.

She also said the government will provide 900 billion rupees (US$11.95 billion) for power distribution companies via state-run power finance companies.

Real estate companies will be able to claim relief from regulatory penalties for up to six months when completion of projects is delayed because of the coronavirus, Sitharaman said.

She declined to disclose the impact on India’s fiscal deficit, which many private economists say could widen to over 5 percent of GDP due to a fall in revenue and additional spending.

India has become the 12th most-affected country on Wednesday after the federal health ministry reported 122 new COVID-19 deaths along with 3,525 fresh positive cases, taking the number of deaths to 2,415 and total cases to 74,281.

Australia

Australians need to stay on guard against new outbreaks of novel coronavirus as mobility restrictions are eased across the country this week, authorities said, as the death toll rose to 98 on Wednesday.

The COVID-19 crisis would be a “marathon, not a sprint”, Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary Philip Gaetjens told a parliamentary committee as it began looking into Australia’s response to the pandemic on Wednesday.

Australia is one of the most successful countries in its handling of the pandemic, with about 7,000 cases and the average daily increase sliding to just 0.14%.

READ MORE: India reopens economy but millions of workers stay home

Muslims perform the Tarawih nightly prayer during the holy month of Ramadan, while keeping their distance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, at the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, in the Saudi city of Mecca, late on May 8, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Bangladesh 

Bangladesh reported 19 new deaths of COVID-19 patients Wednesday, the country's biggest daily increase since March. 

According to the official, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 17,822, with record 1,162 more cases reported in the last 24 hours as of 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Bahrain 

Bahrain reported 173 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections to 3,218. Bahraini Health Ministry said it will increase the number of beds for treating COVID-19 patients from 4,257 to 5,489.

Cambodia 

Cambodia on Wednesday allowed companies to resume exporting white rice from next week, after banning it for more than a month to ensure local food security during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resumption was made at the request of the Cambodia Rice Federation and after the Southeast Asian country has detected no new COVID-19 cases for a month.

Cambodia has so far recorded a total of 122 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 121 patients cured, according to the Ministry of Health.

Indonesia

Indonesia reported on Wednesday its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections with 689 new cases, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 15,438, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.

Yurianto reported 21 new deaths related to COVID-19, taking the total to 1,028, while 3,287 have recovered. He added that more than 33,000 patients are suspected to be carrying acute respiratory illnesses for which there is no clinical explanation other than the new coronavirus, he added.

Iran

Iran's Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki on Tuesday touted that the spread of COVID-19 is under control in most parts of the country, though the rise in new infections continued.

In a few provinces the situation remain worrisome, the Iranian minister acknowledged, referring to the reports about a sharp rise in the coronavirus infections in the southwestern Khuzestan province over the past week.

Iran announced 1,481 new infections, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 110,767, of whom 6,733 have died.

Iraq

The Iraqi Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed 95 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 2,913.

The new cases were recorded after 2,756 test kits were used across the country during the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement.

The new cases included 71 in the capital Baghdad, 18 in Basra, five in Diyala and one in Karbala, the statement said.

So far, 112 people have died from the disease in Iraq, while 1,903 have recovered, it added.

A cameraman takes video footage of a closed night club after it was visited by a COVID-19 patient, in the nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on May 12, 2020. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)

Israel

Israeli police arrested 320 people at a Jewish bonfire festival celebrating an ancient sage, after worshippers rioted over coronavirus restrictions that denied them access to his tomb, officers said on Wednesday.

The number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in Israel dropped below 200 on Tuesday, for the first time since March 15, the Israeli Ministry of Health said.

The number of hospitalized patients declined from 209 to 198, with 66 of them in serious condition, the ministry said.   

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Israel increased to 16,529, after 23 new cases were added on Tuesday.

Lebanon

The number of COVID-19 infections increased by 11 to 870. The Lebanese cabinet announced that it will completely shut the country down for four days from Wednesday night until Monday morning amid a resurge in COVID-19 cases.  

ALSO READ: Jokowi cautions on lockdown exits as deaths exceed 1,000

Kuwait

Kuwait on Tuesday reported 991 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths from the virus, bringing the total infections to 10,277 and the death toll to 75.  

Kyrgyzstan 

The COVID-19 situation in Kyrgyzstan is slightly improving, Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Health Minister Nurbolot Usenbaev said, as the country reported seven new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

A total of 1,044 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Kyrgyzstan so far, with 12 deaths and 1,555 people remaining under medical observation. 

Passengers are seen through a window glass as they wait a New Delhi-bound train to start, after the government eased a nationwide lockdown at the Howrah Railway station in Kolkata on May 12, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 37 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking its cumulative total to 6,779 infections.

The health ministry also reported two new deaths, raising the total number of fatalities from the outbreak to 111.

Nepal

COVID-19 cases in Nepal crossed 200 mark after the Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday reported 83 new cases, in the largest single day spike in cases.

The Himalayan country reported 57 cases in the afternoon and additional 26 cases at night on Tuesday, increasing the total count of the COVID-19 to 217.

With the rising number of cases in recent days, the COVID-19 cases in Nepal more than doubled in less than a week, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Health and Population.

New Zealand

New Zealand's State of National Emergency has been lifted and a National Transition Period is now in place as the country prepares to move to COVID-19 Alert Level 2, Civil Defense Minister Peeni Henare announced on Wednesday.

New Zealand will move to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 on Thursday and reopen most businesses in 10 days, according to a decision made on Monday.

Oman

The Omani Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday 148 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in Oman to 3,721.        

The ministry said in a statement that all new cases, including 33 Omanis, are related to community contacts.

It added that 39 patients recovered from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total recoveries to 1,250, while the death toll stood at 17. 

Qatar

Qatar's Health Ministry announced 1,526 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally to 25,149, of which 22,116 are under treatment. Also, 179 more people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 3,019, while the fatalities remained at 14.

Singapore

Singapore’s health ministry said on Wednesday it has confirmed another 675 cases of coronavirus infections, taking the city-state’s tally to 25,346.

Saudi Arabia 

Saudi Arabia, the hardest-hit Gulf state, reported 1,911 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 42,925. The death toll from the disease in the kingdom climbed to 264 after nine more fatalities were recorded.

Saudi Interior Ministry said that a 24-hour curfew will be imposed during the five-day Eid al-Fitr holiday on May 23-27 following the fasting month of Ramadan. 

A masked man walks in a shopping mall at Levent district in Istanbul, on May 11, 2020, on the first day of shops reopening. (PHOTO / AFP)

The Philippines

The Philippines' daily tally of new infections rose by 268 on Wednesday, increasing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 11,618.

The Department of Health (DOH) said in a report that 145 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the number of recoveries to 2,251. It added that 21 more patients have died from the COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 772.

Turkey

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Tuesday announced 1,704 new COVID-19 cases, as the tally of infections in Turkey surpassed 140,000.

In a televised speech, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would continue to be on high alert over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Turkey rose to 141,475, while the death toll surged to 3,894 after 53 more deaths were recorded, Koca tweeted.

The increase in the new cases was "predictable," said the minister.

UAE

Dubai has allowed public parks to reopen and hotel guests to access private beaches, state media said, as the emirate gradually lifts restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus.

Tram and ferry services also resumed and groups of up to five can now practise recreational activities in open areas. Mosques, cinemas, public beaches and nightclubs remain closed.

Other emirates have followed Dubai in easing restrictions. In the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, some malls have resumed business, while Sharjah reopened malls and dine-in restaurants.

The United Arab Emirates announced 783 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 19,661, which includes 6,012 recoveries and 203 deaths.